Every Step I Take Forward Is a Step Away From You

Every step I take forward is a step away from you.

But is it?

It’s a step away from what we shared.
It’s a step away from my time with you.

But is it also a step toward the future – the afterlife – I will share with you?

Are you sitting on the beach waiting for me, an empty chair, an empty glass on the table next to you?
Are you waiting to sit together and talk over our memories and the time we had together?
Are you waiting, as you so often did out under the gazebo?
Are you waiting for me to join you for eternity?

Then every step I take is a step towards that time we will share forever.

I can’t wait to see you again, to touch you again.

In the meantime…
I will miss you and love you and talk to you.
I will create more stories to share with you

When I see you again.

About the author

Katherine Billings Palmer is a technical writer, poet, and essayist from Garden City, Michigan. She’s won several academic writing awards, including first place in the University of Michigan Dearborn Critical Essay Contest for her work about poet John Donne: “‘The Sun Rising’: A Lover’s Boast.”

In 2017, Katherine’s husband, Rick, died of complications from small cell lung cancer. She wrote a series of poems and essays about her struggles to cope with her grief. I Wanted to Grow Old With You is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions.

Her latest book, A Widow’s Words: Grief, Reflection, Prose, and Poetry – The First Year was published in January 2019 and is also available on Amazon.com.

Katherine is a guest blogger for the Hope for Widows Foundation and writes about her grief journey at www.TheWritingWidow.com.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *