And the Crocodile Follows

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And the Crocodile Follows

I never knew which direction life was taking me
Didn’t look to see where my feet were trekking
Yet I always knew a crocodile was following
And that time was the keeper of its clock

I once rode a poem beyond the woods
And far into a deeper meaning
I rode that poem beyond the mountains
And into a children’s dance

I once traveled a highway of work
Tiny stones pebbled my knowledge
But that highway had no ending
Though time was the keeper of its clock

The road soon swept beyond me
Passing through the sun’s red reflection
The pavement curled all about me
As I rested on hardened minutes

I didn't know which direction life was taking me
Didn’t look to see where my feet were trekking
But I heard the crocodile still following
For time is the keeper of its clock

I traveled down a road of promises
Kicking sand into gullies and drifts
I dribbled rhymes and space-dreams
A great distance from my home

I hiked where my feet couldn’t find me
Casting pebbles across windless moors
I knew my twilight home lay inside me
As did poems on the tip of my tongue

But even so, my direction still lies unknown
Though my bones ache from the voyage
And now I hear the crocodile is closer
For time is the keeper of its clock

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(Note: For a while I took this poem away; too many people didn’t understand it. The crocodile is, of course, DEATH. Life is the road. I was sure everyone would see that, but sometimes others don’t ride the same wind currents I do, so I have explained it here and am now re-inserting this into my portfolio because I like the piece.)