Souvenirs

As you might have noticed there have not been many poems lately. This has been a challenging three months so far this year, what with knee surgery, my current bronchial infection resulting from the Chiapas trip, and now, facing minor surgery for a basal cell carcinoma on my nose. The sun has caught up to this old guy… All of the above give cause to wonder about our mortality. Looking backwards over our lives is not really productive as nothing can be changed according to Spirit’s plan for us. How important is the ‘stuff’ we gather throughout our lives? Hence, this recent poem –

Souvenirs

 

Throughout our lives,

We gather souvenirs –

Tangible memories,

Of places we have been,

Milestones –

Remembrances from our past.

Teddy bears, blankies, Barbie dolls,

Marbles, trading cards, special toys,

Grandpa’s watch,  grandma’s pearl necklace,

Trophies, photographs, postcards, stamps, etc.

It’s only on in our later years

That we come to realize,

When many of those ‘souvenirs’

Have been lost or discarded over time,

That these tangible memories

Were unimportant.

The true souvenirs of our lives

Reside in our minds and our hearts,

Tucked away – dust free, never fading –

Available at a moment’s notice;

We need only to close our eyes

And bring them back into our lives again!