For just a few moments
during the holiday season,
with all the festivities and celebration
I can’t help but reflect…
Some life changing moments,
although they pass us by so swiftly,
impact us deeply throughout our life.

Even after decades, a lifetime ago,
I can’t help but wonder…
how things would be different, lives changed,
but for the turn of a wheel,
one stupid moment in the name of fun!
A young life flung to the side,
crushing so many dreams with the impact.

Avoidance, anger, or alcoholic amnesia!
We each dealt in our own ways.
Time healed, scabs form and fall away.
Other’s can’t help but pick at the past.
Ripping sores open again and again,
making a lifetime of pain and scars!
Life goes on whether we like it or not
Move on with it… or a part of us dies,
locked away in the shadow of yesterdays.

Sitting and pondering another second or two,
a single flower and prayer in remembrance.
Stopping time just to reminisce…
A giant smile, a gleam in the eye,
the bounce full of youthful excitement,
all the laughs and lies and loves at sixteen.
Briefly brought back to life this time of year.
The sadness of loss, a splintering of friends,
a long ago life casts a temporary shadow…
shaped by the bright lights of the holiday season.
jc