She walks the city speaking the words,
A splash of color as a painted doorway in the drab cityscape.
Leaving bits of her soul,
Sown as seeds of imagination wherever she goes.

Passing strangers, with a gesture she shares a line.
They stop for a moment, time frozen in their half smile,
Judged to be harmless, they return her to the scenery.
Oblivious to the ripples of her passing.
Their lives brightened if only for a moment
Without their even knowing why.

The poem calls her back, to speak the words
The whispers begin, the words flow, repeated again and again,
Louder, they grow into an impassioned plea
Carve me into your memory, remember me for all time,

But the swirling life intrudes, drawing her eye,
Leaves flutter down,
The colors fracture the concentration,
Bringing the motion to rest.

Upon a quiet bench, she seeks a respite.
Resigned to the inevitable, she embraces the pause,
Her breathing slow, rhythmic, eyes shuttered tightly.
She seeks to block the world’s intrusion

But the peace is only momentary before
The conspiracy of sound and scent,
Shout down the fallacy of exclusion.
With a peaceful moment elusive, the mind
Demands the words be put in motion once again.

Moving, slowly at first, the words return.
The progress of memory coming slowly,
As steps in the journey to reach the mountaintop.
Aging memory pausing at each step to catch its breath,

Unwilling to give gravity the final word
I continue my climb, Bit by bit,
Word by word, I complete the vision,
The stage awaits, my future calls.