THE PAST

The distant mindscape: faces, sound, colour, places, images-
Like impressionistic paintings:
The misty sea beneath the pale moon-light,
The far-away green hill,
The fading flower, the silent lake-
The vastness of the summer field-
Forgotten street-lamps
In deserted parts of one’s childhood town,
Children’s laughter and cries
In the after-dinner hours
Watched by their mother’s vigilant and loving eyes
Abandoned boats on an unknown shore
Sharing the sighs
Of the sea and the winds that pass by-
The faint echo of violin strains
Floating late into the depths of the cold night-
Words of those we loved, knew and met-      
Like an endless kaleidoscope, scenes
Drawn on life’s play-field, initialled by
Laughter and tears:
Long-forgotten now, only hints,
Vestiges of clouded moments, lost
In the labyrinth of time.
The past is only fragmented memories
Cradled within the landscape of the mind-
Is it beautiful, sad or bitter-sweet?
Only you and you alone
Know
Only you alone
Can tell.