Never Do You Walk Alone

By Jim Abbott

Never do you walk alone
Though most of the time
It might seem like it is so
The lone wolf
That lost soul
Some cast off cast away
On a island of one

But appearances to the contrary, my friends
If you will
Allow me to begin
Let me share with you a secret
A certain oft times overlooked fact
You see, all of this life's most daunting of paths
Which you will
Of course be forced
To travel on
Have already been trod upon
Untold millions of times in the past
Well worn down
Now smooth as glass
Trampled down by the footsteps
Of those who have walked them before you

Every emotion that you will experience
Everything that you'll think about or do
Has already been done
Has already been thought of
It truly is nothing new

There are quite a few of us
Some three million plus
And we know just how tough
How very, very rough
At times
Growing up can be

But please believe these things that I reveal
We know exactly how it is that you feel
You see, we're all very well-versed in the drill
As we've all been there
We know all too well of your frustration, desperation and despair
We know of your anger
The shame, and the pain
We know of lashing out blindly
Looking for someone to blame
Your father, your mother
Or perhaps
Someone other
Maybe GOD
"Dear, dear GOD
Why have you done this to me?
What have I done?
Am I the only one?
Or are their others out there like me
Others longing to be free"

Parents; they do the best they can
Friends; they try to understand
But they really can't
And you can hardly fault them for that
For how could they know
How could anyone else ever really know
Save those of us who have been there

There might be times
When you want to run and hide
Just shut tight your eyes
In the hope that it will magically somehow
All just disappear
However my friends, if truth be told
Chances are
It's not going anywhere

But, there is one thing that I have learned
It seems that the more times that this old earth turns
For whatever the reason
This burden we share
Does seem to become somewhat easier
For many of us
To bear

Maybe you might take some comfort
From these words that I have to say
Then again, perhaps you won't
But keep in mind
As you partake of that ride
On the long, arduous journey that is life
On the darkest hour of your darkest day
When all hope is seemingly lost
When you're backed into a corner
Always, please always remember
That you are never alone

Look with your heart
And not with your eyes
For if you do
I'm certain you will find
The collective spirits of each one of us
Right there by your side
Standing straight and true
And tall and strong
Guiding you along
To encourage you
Helping pull you through
Those most difficult of times

No, I can't guarantee
That every time everything will be okay
There will be
Most assuredly
Occasions when you will stumble and you'll fall
But every move that you make
Every step that you take
We take it with you

For you never walk alone
My brothers and my sisters
Those that are so young
For never do you walk alone