The old man shuffles where the young man used to run<\/p>\n
His eyes see the same world he saw as a child<\/p>\n
But a lot has changed<\/p>\n
Many details look the same<\/p>\n
But a sandy area near a river where he used to play<\/p>\n
lies now, half neglected and half fenced off and ‘improved’ with over priced houses<\/p>\n
and distrusting owners glaring out through locked doors and windows armed with burglar alarms<\/p>\n
The books he loved reading more than once now require a pair of glasses to reveal their coded secrets<\/p>\n
Anywhere he looks, any memory he peers through is now weighted with years of random association with pleasure and pain<\/p>\n
memories strained through love and loss, anger and forgiveness, harsh words and encouragement<\/p>\n
Words like ‘forever’ and ‘betrayal’ fill with nectar and poison, sting and soothe<\/p>\n
Wrinkled old women still look like the first time he saw them, softened by years of warm touch, celebration and consolation-<\/p>\n
clarity, confusion, they’re all still there, you never forget.<\/p>\n
Some things you never get over – some tears still burn.<\/p>\n
The loss of a pet, the cruelty of a ‘friend’. The death of a child or a childhood companion.<\/p>\n
Loves that turn sour can be survive – Loves that never were – cannot<\/p>\n
And yet a rainy day can still bring back the sunshine<\/p>\n
And dreams left unfulfilled can still inspire<\/p>\n
While promises unkept can still burn deeply<\/p>\n
as the pain in his joints can be ignored with a hint of a wagging tail<\/p>\n
or the memory of a purring cat<\/p>\n
whether ‘ghosts’ or ‘souls reborn’ are real, they are still with him and always will be<\/p>\n
And now hints from the next life shock less and less<\/p>\n
While messages from long gone parents, friends and lovers<\/p>\n
feel more convincing every day.<\/p>\n
Contact from beyond the grave, much harder to deny,<\/p>\n
Leaves this tearful poem without an ending.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
~~~~~ Jim Wellington – 19 January, 2015<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The old man shuffles where the young man used to run His eyes see the same world he saw as a child But a lot has changed Many details look the same But a sandy area near a river where he used to play lies now, half neglected and half \u2026 Continue reading