Footprints in the Sand

I watched you walk away 

As anger flamed uncontrollably 

The fires ravaged our love 

Scorching the foundation 

Long after the flames died 

After the embers grew dark 

After the smoke dissipated 

Past the time of the heat 

All I have left 

Of the love we shared 

Are footprints in the sand 

At this point I can’t even remember 

What small or insignificant thing 

Sparked the fire which raged 

Destroying everything we built 

Now I sit alone amidst the rubble 

The vestiges of life ruined 

Nothing left untouched 

By flame or smoke 

All I have left 

Of the love we shared 

Are footprints in the sand 

What a fool I am 

Trading the love we shared 

In the heat of a moment  

For this devastation 

I watched you walk away 

And all I have left 

Are footprints in the sand 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

March 21, 2021

Footprints

Once upon a time

During one of my numerous trips

Out of the house to one place or another 

I heard the sounds of struggle behind me 

When I turned, I saw my child

Stretching, with Herculean effort 

To step into the footprints 

I had left in a freshly fallen white blanket 

“I’m walking like you, Daddy.”

In one breathtaking moment 

The burden of a legacy fell on me 

Walking in the right places

Or walking in the wrong places

Someone is following my footsteps 

An impressionable learner 

Is giving their best effort 

To copy my deeds as their own 

“I’m walking like you, Daddy.”

My footprints in this snow 

(Like walking through hard times)

Will eventually disappear 

As the difficulties fade in time 

My footprints in the sand 

(Like good days on the beach) 

Are just as temporary 

Washed away by times tide 

The legacy left by them 

Will not disappear as quickly 

As my footprints become his/her footprints 

And their life becomes my continuing legacy 

The continuation of my fathers legacy in me 

As his footsteps became mine 

After his faded or were erased 

By the tides of time and turmoil 

Footprints in a life 

Life is sand, snow, stone and dirt 

Everywhere we go

We leave an imprint behind 

Someone is stretching 

Trying to match our stride 

Trying to fill our steps and prints 

Barely reaching, with just a reason to try 

Everywhere

One more print, one more try, one more goal 

One more reason to step higher, to step farther 

Somewhere out there 

Someone is stretching 

Someone is trying

Footprints

Legacy 

“I’m walking like you, Daddy.”

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

March 21, 2021

Coworker

practice

 

My Heart Tells Me

The moon tells me 

Another day has passed

The calendar tells me 

Another week has passed

The bills in my mail tell me

Another month has passed

With new aches and pains 

My body tells me 

Another year had passed 

All the leading indicators 

Are trying to tell me

Slowly but surely 

Time is passing 

However 

When I look into your eyes 

My heart tells me differently 

When I touch your hands 

My heart disagrees 

When our lips press together 

My heart tells me

Everything remains

I think

I will listen

To the things

My heart tells me

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

Match 7, 2021

Red, Yellow, Black and White

On any given shore

The rainbow coloring

Of scattered stones

Showcase the microcosm 

Of life on Earth

The beauty of the world 

is not in singularity 

The true beauty 

is in diversity 

The multitudinous 

of life’s variety 

scarcely contains 

its magnificence 

Only in death

Does life attain

Singularity

Life is multicolored 

With ragged edges 

Perfect fits

Are a rarity

Red stones 

Lay with blue 

Laying with yellow 

Beside the green

The grandeur

Which is life

Is not found

In a field of white

It is found, rather

In the differences 

Making our diversity

Blur into our commonality 

The commonality

Of our kindness

Of our generosity

Of our community 

“Red, yellow, 

black and white 

They are precious 

in His sight”

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

February 3, 2021

A Curious Heart

Consider the human heart

The essential seat of life

A little off center anatomically 

Yet, dead center emotionally 

It is of this, quintessentially

I will address in this space

The curiosity of this repository 

Ever filling, ever flowing 

The unexplainable phenomenon 

Of overflowing but being never full

With the inflow of love from others

And the outflow of my love and passion

It is within this conundrum 

I find my growing love for you

For, although it flows relentlessly

It flourishes unceasingly 

The unfathomable love you share

Supports and feeds my heart 

As we travel through each day

On our way to forever together

You fill my life

You mirror my love

You live within

A curious heart

Happy Valentine’s Day 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

February 14, 2021

The Real Question

The real question 

is whether I can believe in God 

and the infallibility of His Word 

and still be a decent human being 

and can you not believe in God 

or the Bible as His Word 

and also be a decent human being 

Can I believe the earth and mankind 

were created by intelligent design 

over the course of six days 

of indeterminate length 

for the purpose of serving 

the will of said creator 

and still treat those 

of differing beliefs and ideals 

humanely 

and can you believe 

mankind exists 

through the process of evolution 

over billions of years 

and still treat those 

with differing opinions 

humanely 

With all the turmoil and unrest 

existing in our shared world today 

is the question of our origin 

the most pressing issue 

to be resolved, 

especially when no one 

of either belief camp 

was present at the point of origin 

and neither can offer definitive proof 

to the exclusivity of their claim 

The answers we seek 

regarding racial, sexual, 

and gender equality 

can be debated from both 

the spiritual and scientific bias 

with both sides 

finding pseudo-spirituality 

and/or pseudoscience 

to support the arguments 

of whether we are equal 

Yet, in both camps 

are the arguments 

convincing each of true equality 

Religion says we came from one 

Science says we came from one 

If we came from one 

we are one people 

We are equal 

Cling to your opinion 

but treat others 

with equality and respect 

Discuss and debate 

with dignity and respect 

Walk together 

in the light of the sun 

or in the light of the  moon

humanely

To do less 

is a disservice 

to both branches

of the same tree

and to dishonor 

the real question 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

February 7, 2021

The Man in the Mirror

How oft we pass without notice

Mirrors and other reflective surfaces

Even when we do take time to look 

Do we really see the one looking back

Oh, I know we look at the surface

We have to make the hair is coiffed

We must make sure the makeup is proper

Or the beard is trimmed just so

Every now and then, however

We need to take a deeper dive

We must stand before the soul’s mirror 

And look long at the man in the mirror 

Who is this man looking back at me

This cannot be the me others see

This man with eyes of sadness stained

With scars of deep sorrow expressed

This man rages for every breath

As if he is oppressed by some great weight

He stands barely with stooped shoulders

His complexion is ashened by deaths veil 

It seems he has spent a lifetime

Dragging chain of various grudges

Links forged of unforgiven wrongs 

Both received and perpetrated

He stands poised to step into the light

His heart, ready to bask in freedom

Yet, the flesh hooks of the past pierce him 

He struggles with an unrelenting yesterday 

His confidence is riddled with uncertainty

His bravery is just a mask over his fear

His polished armor hides a broken soul

His dulled sword is a useless ornament

This man hiding in my darkened mirror 

Filled with all dread and undying doubt

For anywhere, in any situation, at any time 

This man, this hidden man, could emerge 

The man in the mirror

© Ron Simpson Jr.

February 5, 2021