dirty little fingers
grasp the face of a china doll
'take it and run'
they shouted;
like wolves to the moon.

you would never notice the puddle you splashed in
as your feet flew over the gound.
your legs are covered in mud now, love.
with your every rythmic hoof-beat
the earth cracks beneath you.

'never look back'
they cried,
'never look back'
like vultures
encircling a carcass in the blistering sunlight.

stomp
stomp
.splash.
slosh
slosh

one unsure step
and its face meets pavement.
they're all gone, love.
you were moving to fast to notice
that they never took to running behind you.

you would never stop to think until now
and you wouldn't have
if your body hadn't come crashing to a halt so
abruptly, love.
and you finally noticed all the mud on your legs
and that they were nowhere to be found (when you needed them most)
as you lay face down in a hundered tiny shards of china
covered in your dirty little fingerprints.