HOLD THAT DOOR

Hold that door — somebody's coming
Hold that door — I hear feet running
We didn't climb just to guard this floor
If you made it inside, hold that door

Glass-front lobby, eight-oh-nine
Young man running with a crooked tie
Guard looked ready to close that gate
I held my badge there and told him, “Wait”
Breath came hard; one shoe untied
Folder bent on the lower right side
Look in his face I had worn before
Half hope, half shame at a closing door
Elevator chimed; I could have gone
But one lost minute can live too long
Asked his name, fixed the page on top
Said, “Walk in steady when these doors unlock”

What good is height
If the ladder gets pulled?
What good is light
If the hallway stays full?

Hold that door — somebody's coming
Hold that door — I hear feet running
We didn't climb just to guard this floor
If you made it inside, hold that door

Months later, meeting on level nine
Same young man made the whole plan shine
He saw a woman in the lobby below
Badge wouldn't scan and the lift said close
He put one hand where the doors divide
I saw my gesture come back alive
That's how a hallway becomes a road
One person carries what one person showed
Mentorship isn't a caption or quote
It's risking your comfort to widen the boat
When your name gets printed beside that floor
Make your first policy: hold that door

I thought legacy was
what remained after me.
I was wrong.
Legacy was already moving
in the hand that stopped the door.

Hold that door — somebody's coming
Hold that door — more feet are running
We didn't climb just to guard this floor
Everybody inside, hold that door

Going up.