Pamela Warren Williams
Watch for Unexpected Pedestrians, the sign says.
The wall is right there next to the El Paso freeway.
Right. There.
That sign has remained with me, as have so many images.
Returning from what would be my last search,
not knowing that my toe joint is now bone on bone.
I have offered all that I can in this effort,
needing now to find the next open door.
To write. To share. To support these people.
and from the search —
A dizzying number of determined tracks
aimed at ongoing life.
Criss-crossing quad tracks pursue some.
Occasional hunters on horseback.
Never imagining that I would hold the skills
for this recognition.
The unknowns, haunting.
Random ID’s, passports.
No doubt apprehension sites.
Was that shoe, with its cache of bones intact
dragged here by some animal?
You do not abandon your warm coat
or your toddler’s quilted winter pants.
And then there was the collection of love notes
in a simple little notebook —
translated:
My dear, I will miss you.
You came into my life to make me happy.
Pamela Warren Williams, poet and publisher of poignant truths, provoked by heartbreaking beauty and cultural pain, following ties that either bind or divide. Mercury HeartLink www.heartlink.com promotes positive social impact.