Memories of a Tomorrow

Memories of a tomorrow

That never came to pass

Drift across our thoughts

Like dark clouds

Across a bright sky

Tempting us to stay

In the rain that they bring

To wash away yesterday's sting

In a flood of sorrow

And a mist of pain

It's possible to become

Tied to our heartache

It becomes familiar

And known

Like a friend we've always remembered

Like a love we never forget

But it hurts to keep it close

Yet we cannot let it go

For the pain reminds us

of what we once had

The absence of our loved ones

A chain around our neck

AUTHORS COMMENTARY

This piece was written on May 5 2024. I don't remember much about the context around it, but I will note that it does have to do with the lose my wife and I experienced.

It's free verse, obviously. For the longest time, I didn't care for free verse. As a teenager I was far more likely to wax poetical, and when I did, I loved to use structured work. At some point, the freedom of free verse came to appeal to me. I still have a huge love for structured poetry but there's something about free verse which captures a greater level of emotional rawness for me. I treat every line as it's own shotgun blast of meaning, with a deliberate pause between each one when I speak them out loud.