Accidentals

I cannot write your story though I can imagine
what may have come to pass
Young and divorced embraced by a new love
Caught in a place you never intended
But now you cannot leave
Love carried you this far
Now where will reason take you
I remember a picture of you
Wearing a red dress your mother wore
When she was your age
You are timeless
With your right leg bent back
And your heel touching wall
Do you remember the time
We met when you were married
I thought of you so much
We drank and drank at the end
Of the bar while the bartender
fixed us up his favorite drink.
I got too drunk that night to be
Anything but a silly man
I thought of you then
And I think of you now
I remember the songs you sung
I'd listen to them over and over
And would imagine you
Singing them just for me
I know that wasn't true
Somewhere between
Then and now
Your beloved cousin died
And so did your brother
I know we've lost touch
I am sorry for your loss
I don't know what else to say
You whom I loved so dear
And pined for in futility
I hope your health is well
I'd like to think we'll see each other
Again some day by chance
Or circumstance

Invisible Cycles

It's comforting and disconcerting
to see certain patterns play out
in the lives of those around us.

Most of us will play along with
established notions of normalcy
and be content in their security.

I remember high school and
the friend's home we would all
go spend our time at between

school and band. Lovely parents.
It was a shock to see that home
dissolve into bitter divorce.

They married young. He was in
the service and she wanted to be
with him. So it was for many years.

In time one of their daughters
married a friend of mine right out
of high school. So it went.

Airforce. Deployment. 9/11.
Middle East. Stationed back home.
A home. A child. A divorce.

I see the pattern emerging once
more. I hope it turns out better
for these two young ones.

Have you heard of the wind
scattering seeds to the four corners
of the world?

Ride the wind. Close your eyes.
Weightlessness. We will come to rest
where we must.

Moving forward together 
into the light of a new life.