Don’t run ahead she said
stay beside me
run when I run
walk when I walk
But I ran ahead
because it was easier
and when I looked back
I could not see her
She was so angry
that I ran ahead
but perhaps she feared
that night was coming
She knows I will run ahead
into the gloaming.
And when I look back
I will not see her.
I will learn to run beside her.
But one day we will stumble
and I will run on ahead
into the long night.
© 2016 by Neil Gaiman
Neil Gaiman is The New York Times bestselling author of the novels Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains; the Sandman series of graphic novels; and the story collections Smoke and Mirrors, Fragile Things, and Trigger Warning. He is the winner of numerous literary honors, including the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy awards, and the Newbery and Carnegie Medals. Originally from England, he now lives in the United States. He is Professor in the Arts at Bard College.
Photo Credit: Kimberly Butler
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