Funny
How long past words
Creep into your steamed up mirror
As you try to see yourself through them
Rub them away
But they stay.
“Be careful with your heart” he said
At the time these were wasted on my defiant ears.
Fast forward years….
In my mirror.
There they are.
And I can’t help but stare.
They say the clock is ticking
And the world is out there waiting
And I’m just sitting here…
Trying to figure out what to eat for dinner
After a day of friends
Laughter
Tears
Some empty beers stand on my nightstand
They act above it all and tell me
If I’m not falling from the sky
Or at the top of it asking why I can
If I’m not riding off into the sunset
Or making speeches in front of billions
I have not lived.
GO AFTER YOUR DREAMS
Of travel and success in your profession
Of being the best.
Who are they to attest to what I need?
What I need to deem my life has purpose
Because I was damn well happy
Before they told me I am crappy
At this whole thing some call “life”
Give me honest love, and
someone to snuggle up against
Adventures that may not be
To the peek of the tallest mountain
But take me to the highest point of
Wherever I may be
Or it ends up just a night of driving
With no idea where we’ll be arriving.
Or a walk to somewhere new in town
Where I can take a look around
Sitting in a park to watch the lives that walk on by
Give me laughter and a book to read
There’s nothing I need more
Than to smile once a day at something
That truly makes me happy
So perhaps it will not be
A Nobel Prize or something else to show
That I have found success.
It could just be to see the smile of another
Or a long phone call with my mother
Or I will find my happiness
In foolish dancing, no regrets
Or high fiving someone I just met
Or knowing that
I have someone who cares
So who cares what they say.
I see the ticking hands each day
I know exactly what they mean.
I don’t mean to live in blindness or
On constant cruise control
But for goodness sake please mind your own
And let me go about my business
Of finding where my purpose lies.
You may be surprised it won’t be what “they” say.
Since before I understood why the leaves fall in autumn
Since before I knew love, before I knew heartache
Before I became weighted with inhibitions
And would act out stories on park swings,
I knew you.
There was a time we talked without words
And laughed at jokes only we could hear
We ran at the same pace, though you always were one step ahead
And said secrets so precious, trusting each other to keep them safe
We grew up together, became awkward teens together
But as we grew up, we grew apart.
Different lives, different paths.
It’s not that the friendship changed.
No.
I’m sure we would still be the same goofy pair having staring contests
If I still saw you.
Life is funny, and though we try to get by with facebook chats
and sharing laughs at silly cat pictures across a screen…
Eventually time dilutes the strength of love
Once a year is not enough to stay in someone’s life.
We belong to different worlds now
Somehow the once impossible fact has arrived
Don’t get me wrong!
One hug and we fall back into place
A couple days and we’d be back to our old ways
Skipping along, singing songs no one else could ever know
But with each day, as flowers shine in morning dew,
I shuffle slowly towards the past tense;
I knew you.
Time to let it go
Time to remember the butterflies
Long nights and early mornings
Barely a beginning, no end in sight
But there is no middle
There is no cocoon to be wrapped with
Warm and safe..
Perhaps one day this could grow
What’s inside could blossom and fly free with the breeze
But now, good friend
Time to let it go
Time to move on and let fate take its hand
I cannot stand it anymore
Crawling at a pace so slow
That you don’t see we are going different ways
Wanting but not being able to have
Watching you discover other lovers
Feeling guilty as I find others too
Wondering what it is we have
Are you thinking of me tonight?
Time to let it go.
I’ll see you all too soon
But that’s too far away to stay attached by this
shivering thread
I won’t swim across the ocean
I will only fly for temporary travels
I’m no stronger than a migrating bird
When I leave, I will always return
Return home. Return to you.
I allow and relish this pull in all directions
But you,
You have a love so strong that weighs you down
To ask of you to leave behind this affair with land
With history, with trees and music
With the tastes of memories and sounds of home
It would kill the part of you I love the most
And so that is why
It’s time to let it go.
Good friend
If you can remember the times
When we believed in starry nights
When we believed something so beautiful
Could last
Lips tinted softly with words so sweet
Eyes painted sharp in moments too short
and now the tears of goodbye sting with regret
because I will always wonder what if..
I will always be waiting secretly to be yours.
For now,
Time to let it go.
(Featured Photo: Bench outside the BEST chocolate restaurant in Heidelburg, Germany)
This poem is the king/queen of metaphors and similes. I must say after writing this I quickly fell into vivid dreams.. perhaps my brain was feeding me random images… secretly hushing me to sleep.
*******************
Trip on your way to anywhere
The helping hand will be your greatest friend
Twirl along with dancing scarves
and sing with your eyes wide open
Let your smile breathe in fresh beauty
Count the steps towards beginnings
Where you left from glows with embers
…where you’re going remains wrapped in ribbons
Each second becomes a new adventure
Spun around a bouquet of chocolates
If Forest Gump is a man of his word
And life is like a box of chocolates
Then enjoy the entirety of living sweetly
Bitter Sweet
Too Sweet
You know when done, you’ve experienced a whole and original story
So laugh at nothing funny in particular
Dance when sober, alone, together, apart
And mostly on rooftops in lyrical silence
Stumble around in housecoats and caffeine
Pouring orange juice in your lucky charms
Cry true tears, no frozen fake smiles
Then when the sun dries the puddles
Move on from rain boots and splashes
Leave room in your closet for kind flip-flops
Kiss the soft curves of yourself in the mirror
Then, when ready
Go bump into your perfect opposite
If Forest Gump is a man of his word
And life is like a box of chocolates
Then take your time, let it melt in your mouth
It could have always been much worse.
Sunrise Thoughts 