Strait Poem by Hannington Mumo

I'll exit in quiet and angst-hastened steps
Over the sanded dust on that jinxing floor;
And with well-metered gait soon shoot out
Into a sea of queer faces beyond the door.

I own I must pity each unspeaking grain
Of sad earth asleep under my agile feet,
Unaware of those heavy strides of pain,
Resolute where tears and anxiety meet.

I nurse a weird thought that I'll encounter
An intolerably inquisitive eye as I saunter
Past every low stretch of panicky ground,
Curious whereto my swift legs are bound.

It will be a hastily embarked on walk to far
Climes cast between two impossible walls:
Meanest Fate on the life's left-handed end,
Luck posted on shinier side of such fracas.

At seven-thirty in the chilly morn's breeze,
I'll roam wherever Destiny's winds please!