I saw the footprints in the sand
As they led away from me
They barely registered in my mind
Until I began to see
That they reminded me of someone I knew
There was that nagging feel
I stopped for just a moment there
And forced myself to kneel
I studied them but could not grasp
Why they held my interest so
It seemed that they were taunting me
I decided to let it go
I raised myself up from my crouch
And continued on my way
Wandering why I’d even taken time
Especially on this day
For life had dealt the harshest blow
Each breath was hard to find
The pain so constant and so deep
I feared I would lose my mind
But I tried to keep on going
So I staggered down the beach
One step…and then another
Was it possible to reach
A place where things could be put right
Where healing might emerge
A song of hope perhaps replacing
The hazy funeral dirge
I missed her more than words can say
Looked forward to the time
When I would join her once again
In another place, sublime
I heard a voice so gentle
As if from another world.
“Hey Mister, what you doin’?”
The sweetest little girl.
I spun around to see her
And almost knocked her down.
Had she snuck up on me purposely?
There was no one else around.
She was drawing something in the sand.
What, at first I could not tell.
But her smile pierced me to my very soul
Then her drawing cast its spell.
It was…a perfect sunflower
I had to catch my breath
It felt like this little angel knew
That before my baby’s death
She had handed me that very flower
Her favorite from her youth
Surely this precious little girl
Could not have known this truth
I opened my mouth to question her
To ask her if she knew
She raised here eyes to meet my own
A familiar smoky blue.
She pointed back behind me
“Do you see those footprints there?
They’re really kind of special
Maybe they have something to share.”
Without looking back I gazed at her
And asked her what she meant
For some reason she ignored me
Not giving the slightest hint
So I turned and looked at the footprints
Marching endlessly through the sand
They faded into the distance
I turned to face her again
My heart was struck with wonder…
There was no trace of her
And yet the sunflower remained unscathed
Vibrant, radiant, pure.
A truth emerged, now plain to see
And yet, hard to take in
There were no footprints anywhere
From whence the girl had been
The morning sun was rising now
It almost blinded me
I turned once more to face my past
For the first time did I see
There was only one set of footprints
In the sand along the shore
The waves were erasing even them
Soon there would be no more
And then the voice so gentle
Whispered deep within my heart
She spoke to me from spirit
Her wisdom to impart
“The footprints tell a story
One that most folks cannot see,
But I believe in you, Mister,
You're different to me.
“But you got to see them as they are
Not try to make ‘em fit
You’re the only one on this path today
And Mister…please don’t quit.
“They're fading now, that’s how it goes
The waves erase their past
What once seemed real has disappeared
They never really last.
“Sometimes we get confused, Mister,
Things get all turned around,
Sometimes we need a little push
Before truth can be found.
“You’ve been messed up, I understand
You’ve felt the greatest pain
But now its time to find what's real
It's time to live again.
“The sunflower is my gift to you
To help you make it through.
A reminder that I’m always here.
And Daddy…I love you.”
