An Epic Tale

In a bitter darkness created from within,
He became a recluse and a maniac.
His mind began to swarm with his fears,
All those things he thought he had lost;
Yet they rose to the surface to plague him once more.

His thoughts of the past, the present and the future
Caused him such grief everyday he existed.
His thoughts turned to reasons why;
Why he existed, why he continued, why he was here.

His mind raced, his heart pounded hard.
He remembered a time, a time he was okay.
The time in the autumn, by the river,
When they used to skip rocks and swim;
A time when the world was beneath him.

He recalled those days when nothing else matter,
They would lay there and listen for life.
The sounds came in glorious forms:
The leaves rustling, the fish jumping, the birds chirping.
There was one sound he enjoyed the most,
A sound he no longer heard,
The sound of their gentle breaths.

He smiled softly as he recalled the times,
The times of that autumn, by the river,
He remembered the sights, the sounds, the smells;
He envisioned the long lazy days roll by.

A slight wetness swelled in his eye,
As he fought back the onslaught of tears.
The reasons he thought about,
His reason for being,
All made sense to him now.

Why he existed was merely for joy,
Why continued was to bask in that joy,
And why he was here,
That was more complicated.

He was here because it was a choice,
A choice he had made shortly after.
He had no desire to socialize,
No will to be with company.

One single day, back then,
When the last of the autumn leaves fell,
And the seasons began to change,
His life had altered in the blink of an eye.

What they had once shared so specially,
Just between the two of them,
Could no longer be shared;
There was a key ingredient missing.

It was this thought that kept him pondering.
This was the reason he was a recluse, a maniac,
For without all the pieces, they could not be full--
They would never be able to enjoy again.

After many years of pining over their loss,
He decided it was time to forget, to move on.
He gathered himself up, and began a new life.
He returns often to that spot, where they spent that autumn,
And reminisces about the time spent so peacefully there.

And once his daydream is over,
He returns to his day, but never forgets.