My115thDream

Poem - "Took a Long Time to Get Back Here"

The sun’s hanging low for an hour or so
Before hiding behind the trees,
The shadows are long and a cool mellow song
Is drifting along in the breeze.
The snow melted fast, it’s springtime at last,
And this time I know it’ll stay,
The branches are blooming on trees that are looming
A few hundred feet away.
The window shoppers and the after school crowd
Like seagulls they flock to this place,
The ice cream man and the latte machine
Are locked in a furious race.
Sitcom humor and gossip and rumors
Drown out the sound of the birds,
With the smooth jazzy jingle on the P.A. they mingle,
A medley of music and words.
The atmosphere is filled with good cheer,
The new season’s promise abounds,
Spirits are soaring and I’m no exception,
Like one of those Virgo Clowns.
I smile in serenity of freshly made memories
From not quite a fortnight ago,
I was southbound again and surrounded by friends
And we put on a hell of a show.
From childhood streets and old favorite haunts
To downtown gritty and gray,
Gleeful reunions beneath the moon
Of the River City in May.
For this joyful endeavor we all come together
With an old friend who lives down in Raleigh,
For his graduation from youthful temptation
And all the requisite folly.
That’s three of ‘em down and a few more to go,
And the days turn to years all the while,
We’ll all miss our friend but we’ll see him again
And we sure sent him off in style.
Four hectic days flew by in a blaze
Of bars and big banquet halls,
Between laughing and drinking I soon got to thinking
We’re not so bad off after all.
Too many times I’ve penned mournful lines
Lamenting the passage of youth,
But the years that have seen us put miles between us
Only tell half of the truth.
We know how to throw down when we all come to town
And we still laugh as hard as ever,
Time cannot tear the bonds that we share
Nor distance can ever dissever.
We feel no regret for the paths that we’ve set,
No yearnings to turn back the clock,
We’re all making do with the deck that was dealt
And sometimes we manage to rock.