Miles of Experience

It was a cool day in February last year when my car broke down.
The night was falling on the day;
pushing the warmth of it underground.
I was seven miles south of help...
without a soul around.

The shadows came out to play in the moonlight as I began to walk.
I thought about where I had been, where I would go,
and disbelieving where I was...
seven miles south of help...
without a soul around.

The night was getting colder so I picked up my pace
to hurry along in the darkness and find a safer place
This couldn't be happening...after all this was ME...
Six miles south of help...
without a soul around.

As I walked I wondered where my luck had gone without a trace,
about my ways and means, and the misfortune of this time and place.
I imagined the outcomes of this night and tomorrow...without knowing my fate but willing to make a deal.
Five miles south of help...
without a soul around.

I felt guilty about what I had left behind and sorry for all of the things that had I left inside.
If only I was not a victim of my vanity and pride.
I couldn't possibly carry it all and I hoped that it would still be there tomorrow.
Four miles south of help...
without a soul around.

I was angry that my cell phone had no reception.
and that I hadn't made it another seven miles in this direction.
I wondered why this happened to me and why I happened to be
Three miles south of help...
without a soul around.

The dark had grown darker and the cold had grown colder
And all that I carried became the world on my shoulders
My feet grew heavy and my breath grew thin. My feet, my breath, and I...
Two miles south of help...
without a soul around.

I hoped, as I drew near, that there would be a place for me.
My cell phone was dead as was my spirit from the loss of my time and energy.
I thought of those that I loved and wondered if they were thinking of me even as I was...
one mile south of help...
without a soul around.

When I arrived, I was frozen, yet my feet burned as fire. I was happy to have made the miles.
I was glad to have the comfort of a hotel room even at an uncomfortable price.
I thought about all that I had left behind and I realized then that I was,
with no rhyme or reason, in and of myself and all of my things...
without a soul around.

And as I drifted off to sleep that night
I thought about the other people here and there around the world
without cars or phones or the comforts of home
for miles around or miles away...
without a soul around.