Step Forward, Please

By Katherine Harris Szerdy

Putting your best foot forward

Isn’t the easiest thing to do.

First you must decide on your right or left

Then carefully shove that foot just so.

With any luck and some coordination

Plus an inordinate desire to achieve

You can take that motivation--

Work hard, there’s no time for a reprieve.

Putting your hot pink foot forward, though,

Can be a whole lot more fun--

Then break into a dance, let Spirit guide you

Under the warm summer sun;

Or try pirouetting, feet painted like rainbows,

Leaving behind you a trail of multi-colored smiles,

Magical yellows, greens, indigoes

Swirling behind you mile after miraculous mile.

So, I choose to set my feet to dancing

In a way that colors my world

Rather than step back into a colorless existence,

the chaotic life into which I’d been hurled

Back when I thought I had to complete

So many titles, awards, and college degrees

In order to grasp some sense of self-worth,

With emphasis on the need to people-please.

Remember, glass slippers break easily,

Italian high-heeled stilettos pinch toes.

Please listen, for I’ve learned the hard way

That if you lose touch with what your inner-self knows

And put too much effort in taking steps forward,

Because of a compulsion to advance,

You’ll sacrifice a chance for true happiness

And you’ll miss the barefoot dance.

Copyright 2011  Katherine Harris Szerdy