Memories Adrift

Memories Adrift

I walk down the street
Awash with memories
Of a happier time
Not long ago

Glimpsing happy couples
Walking hand in hand
A taste of bitter resentment sour inside
Until it hurts to even think

I sit and let recollections flow over me
Sweeping me up in the current
A magnificent tide stealing me away
As surely as any flood

There we sit atop a massive hill
Lake and forest spread before us like a toy
A beautiful tapestry of brilliant hues
Encompassing all in a warm embrace

Or riding down twisting, dark county roads
Listening to clicks and groans of a complaining, but faithful old truck
Heat sharp on our feet, cool breezes in our faces
Happy for the time alone in quiet

Hiding in this crevace, that crack
A lizard awaits just out of reach
Jump off the swings, wind the grass stalks
Innocent times of bliss

Shed for a moment tomorrow's toils
Wrap in your coat, gloves, boots
Romp through the wintery forest
Simple pleasures are ours

It's not so hard to let go if you relax your grip
It's saying good-bye, bitter farewells sour in your mouth
Choking you beyond any speech but to whisper I Love You
Through pain-numbed lips

But the world goes on, and if you live for the past
How can you build
Paying with pain and sorrow
A tomorrow of happiness?