I fall at a moment’s notice
and when I fall, I fall forever.
Never does any day pass
that I’m not at risk
of captivity to some stray memory.
Reminders of the places
and flashes of the faces
that meant something
sometime, somewhere,
drift in and out of my awareness.
I sit in awe
(and some slight fear)
of just how deep the ties can be
through all this time and distance,
no matter what has come before or between,
no matter the strength of whatever
may have come to break the bonds between,
they will seemingly always remain.
Thin and frail though they may be,
their tendrils reach into my soul
to tug at heartstrings
with fleeting, feeble flashes
of what was and might have been.
And though I regret little,
I can’t help but wonder
when these moments
and memories cross my mind
about what might be happening now,
so far further down these roads…