Interpretation by Diane Millner
Most of the poems in this series are not about me. But I’ll have to admit that this one started out that way. It came from my gut. From my own spontaneous physical feelings of wanting to put on a backpack, exit stage left or right and never look back.
This feeling overtakes me more often than I’d like to admit and I have long known that my “fight or flight” response leans toward GET OUT NOW!!!
But as I reflect on this poem I have begun to see it as more than a physical walking away because there are ways of walking away that don’t have anything to do with hiking boots.
I, or you, or we can walk away from anger, fear, pessimism. I, or you, or we can walk away from an unhealthy relationship with a co-worker, a boss, a friend, a sister, a brother, a parent, a spouse. Or maybe the unhealthy relationship doesn’t even involve a person. Maybe it’s about an unhealthy relationship with money or alcohol or social media or work or Star Trek re-runs or chocolate chip cookies or —
Fill in the blank.
There is a long list of things that I, or you, or we can walk away from. If I let my philosophical self off-leash during that list making process — down the rabbit hole I go.
For me, hiking boots and backpacks and long, long walks clear my head and gently lead me (one step at a time because I’ve never been good at multi-tasking) toward psychological shifts. And therein lies the key word.
Toward.
When I, or you, or we make the decision to walk away, I, or you, or we are also making the decision to walk toward.
Toward what? Um… sunrises, sunsets, love, optimism, courage, Mr Spock, plain old sugar cookies — Fill in the blank. XO Michelle