over the years
life leaves its traces
on our bodies, our souls,
in our memories
the moment when a broken twig
just barely missed the eye
of a cavorting child
the first time promises
turned into cheats, betrayal, strife
adding injustice to the loss of trust
the day when suddenly
you could not read
the writing on the blackboard any more
and needed glasses
the time when playing the piano
got so painful that you had to stop dreaming of a pianist’s career
love’s first elations
followed by despair and disappointment
some lucky instances as well
have kept you kicking & alive until this day
crashing through the old glass door
mostly unharmed
with your first scooter
during a summer job at the steel mill
seeing just your leather working glove
and not your hand
disappear into the hydraulic power press
getting away with just a crick in your neck
when your idiot friend caused a car crash
that left only small pieces of your glasses
in the wreck
out of them all
the scars of loss
or threat of loss
are such that never die
your little son saved
by last-minute surgery
sitting at your daughter’s bed
for several days
until high fever finally abated
your mother’s unexpected death
on the first day of spring
the slow and dreary suffering
your father bore with desperate pride
a few more years
all these engravings
and many more
written by the flow of time and space
are waiting just around the corner
from your daily living room
mixed in with fonder memories
of joyous time and wonderful events
together they have shaped
the person that you are
your life, your world
which you still try
to understand
Apr 17, 2017
Apr 17, 2017 at 10:07 AM UTC
over the years
life leaves its traces
on our bodies, our souls,
in our memories
the moment when a broken twig
just barely missed the eye
of a cavorting child
the first time promises
turned into cheats, betrayal, strife
adding injustice to the loss of trust
the day when suddenly
you could not read
the writing on the blackboard any more
and needed glasses
the time when playing the piano
got so painful that you had to stop dreaming of a pianist’s career
love’s first elations
followed by despair and disappointment
some lucky instances as well
have kept you kicking & alive until this day
crashing through the old glass door
mostly unharmed
with your first scooter
during a summer job at the steel mill
seeing just your leather working glove
and not your hand
disappear into the hydraulic power press
getting away with just a crick in your neck
when your idiot friend caused a car crash
that left only small pieces of your glasses
in the wreck
out of them all
the scars of loss
or threat of loss
are such that never die
your little son saved
by last-minute surgery
sitting at your daughter’s bed
for several days
until high fever finally abated
your mother’s unexpected death
on the first day of spring
the slow and dreary suffering
your father bore with desperate pride
a few more years
all these engravings
and many more
written by the flow of time and space
are waiting just around the corner
from your daily living room
mixed in with fonder memories
of joyous time and wonderful events
together they have shaped
the person that you are
your life, your world
which you still try
to understand
