A tiny,
Fragile raft
Floating in
A vast ocean,
All of us on it.
They visit me at
Odd moments, remnants
Of a past existence I
Can barely relate to.
Strange reminders of
The same person
Separated only by
Time and experience.
They arrive
Unannounced and overstay
Their welcome, reviving
Memories best left forgotten.
Closing the door
Behind me, I bid them
A good day and
Go for a walk.
Although no one can tell
From the outside,
There are many seemingly
Insignificant events that
Send him into paroxysms
Of discomfort and anxiety,
His mind overwhelmed by
Intrusions he has no choice
But to endure, disproportionate
Reactions to abstractions,
A tight smile the only hint of
The incessant turmoil within.
He informs everyone that
It was the other person’s
Fault, that he had nothing
To do with it, just an
Innocent bystander felled
By unprovoked malice, an
Exposed infant at the mercy
Of a ravenous creature.
It’s a tale that people believe,
Not by virtue of it having
Any merit, but rather because
They tell the same stories.
We arrive at
The moment we
Knew would come but
Have desperately tried
To avoid,
Fidgeting nervously,
Trying not to look at one another,
The weight of everything
That came before
Urging us to forget.
They look at him
In horror, disgust.
He doesn’t fit the mold,
Isn’t like them.
Discomfort caused by
Unfamiliarity.
Stultifying averageness,
Stay in the lines.
Lack of internal insight,
Loss of perspective.
Remain the same
At all costs.
Beheading
Extraordinary flowers.
He loses no sleep over
Being the one who haunts
Their slumber, visits at
The most inopportune times,
Interrupts otherwise happy
Moments, the one memory
That can’t be erased,
The action unforgotten,
Indelible, an unignorable
Placidity-staining mark.
He goes merrily along with
His life, leaving other
Such trinkets in his wake.
She walks the other way,
Even though she recognizes
Him from a distance,
Some things are better
Left unaddressed rather
Than reanimated, causing
Further discomfort and pain.
It’s not so much that she
Can’t handle it but, rather,
That it’s not worth
Expending the energy on
To resolve in any way.
Her life different now,
No need to revisit.
It wasn’t always this way,
Things were better
At one point,
But probably not,
Knowing what I know now.
