Backpack

Wayfaring

from place to place,

gathering stuff

from here and there,

discarding some

on the wayside,

my backpack

is loaded, heavy

and stretching

at its seams,

my journey begins

as I pick it up

and stops over

as I put it down,

the road speeds on

slipping off my feet

as I tote around

my belongings

from one place

to another

and yet another

until my bag

flops flat, deflated

…and empty.

© 2021 SUJATHA WARRIER