memory – Lewis Walddren

Memories reveal

We live today
for an unknown future,
while memories
flash clues,
remembering only
what matters.

The past reflects

a future glance,

a figment familiar

but strange,

and the eyes

that once loved you,

change shape –

and the refuge found,

dilutes –

fades away

with each passing reflection.

I waste so much time,
unaware until it’s gone;

Paralysed by thought,
finite and out of sight;

I grew old when I was young,
out of time before I began;

Time wasted on regrets,
and unfulfilled dreams;

What could have been – wasn’t,
and what was – shouldn’t have been.

Tight ropes and balancing acts,
no cushion could ease this blow.

The weight of knowing trips me,
when memory mocks ambition

And staggers progress
for want of more of the same.