I dreamt I was a transient last night
just someone, anyone, maybe everyone
that set off on this path
in the woods, hanging onto the trees
as I passed by their sculpted trunks
I wasn't alone, for there were others
on the very same path
though it was wide and varied
with everyone walking at their own pace
and suddenly the path ended
came to a halt in the middle of a store
where the clerk looked at me
from behind the counter, puzzled
asking if he could help me
I told him I was on this trail
and just wondered where it began, again
but he looked again at me, puzzled
then left through a door behind him
I looked at the shelves, at the food
acting as though I was anyone else
and then the clerk was at my side
asking if he could help, as if I needed it
as if I had nothing and served no purpose
in the store he tended to
but it was the store that had no purpose
I needed nothing there, no food, no help
I just needed my trail, the one I had been on
the one everyone else was on
going at their own pace
that clerk acted as though I was just a transient
with nothing to my name
just a transient traveling through
and then I woke up
and realized it was true
