foot prints

while glancing out the back window this morning
I noted foot prints, all sorts of foot prints, in the fresh snow ...
we live on the edge of the woods and regularly have lots of visitors
n the night searching for food but it is not always there is evidence of
their visit .... this morning it is obvious there were many last night  who stopped by ...

some prints skipped lightly across the surface
some went in a perfectly straight line
some hopped all over the place
some went very deep, pressing right down to the frozen ground
but each one left its mark

and I pondered all the people who have walked in and out of my life
some stayed for a season
some stayed for years
some were simply quickly in and out

but each one left a mark on the land of me ...

the ones who skipped lightly in and out
the ones who trod heavily
the ones who encircled

some left scars
some left deep holes
some barely scratched the surface

but
each
one
left
a
mark .....