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Ann Marie Houghtailing
1 min readMay 21, 2024

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I sit with the old,
the demented, and the dying

Sometimes they time travel
Sometimes they travel to another country without leaving the room
Sometimes they turn me into someone they knew
before I was even born

I have learned to follow
I go into the forest
or back to Cleveland
or out on a date in 1946

I sit
I listen
I follow

Yes, I see the rabbit in the corner
It does smell like lavender in here
I love traveling by train as well

Surrendering to now is a kind of promise

I will rock in the cradle of sorrow with you
I will stand in the darkness until morning with you
I will go back and back and back to a place I’ve never been with you
I will follow your lead as you make your way to the end of this place
and bid you a safe, merciful journey

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Ann Marie Houghtailing

Ann marie Houghtailing is the co founder of Story Imprinting, a communications firm that teaches clients the art and science of storytelling.