Those Whom Have Gone Before.

Photo courtesy of Sharena Williams Photography

How many of those that have traveled before relinquished their lives, trying in vain to reach a distant oasis.  Their cries for help absorbed by the desert as the vultures circled above. Did they crawl forward refusing to give up, or did they lie down in defeat?  When the vultures had feasted, and the sand had scoured their bones, did their souls continue on?  The footprints before me bare witness to their passing, ever present in the shifting sands of time.  And if their journey began in hopes of a better life, if they stepped upon this treacherous path with thoughts of doing some small part in making the world a better place, then my first steps are willingly taken, for they will not have sacrificed themselves in vain.