"Remember When..." - The Cafe Series - Life As We Live It.

All the music we've lived ...and lost.

“Remember When…” - The Café Series - Life As We Live It.

 

Chuckling so softly …so very, very, very softly… somewhat to myself but not really paying attention - just leaking, leaking, just BEING …me…, sitting, being HERE in the “moment”.  Sometimes that IS all you CAN do - as you and the music fades and life

 

…echoes

and echoes

 

…moments…

lived…witnessed…shared…endured…

…let go…

 

mine…others

each I an “our”.

 

Sometimes we survive childhood,

but who the hell knows the hows -

let alone the whys?

And the good crowds close,

the bad closer still

 

…moments… happenings,

 

…breathe…breathe…

 

learning to forget

 

to dream

‘til we become who we are.

 

And all the “…laters.” 

So many, many “…laters.”

I don’t use “Goodbye” -

for me back then it WAS and still IS always final,

a children’s life-held and “echoed” lullabye.

 

And then come more moments

“…Some hear the glasses and bottles clink and voices play back and forth - back and forth.  Sometimes laughter rings out - raucous, braying, stupidsillylaughter and it hurts in the now” - “Missing Friends” toast each July -

 

moments.

 

And still more …laters…

happen -

as life always does.

 

…and more Julys…

 

And we live our “now” moments

one-by-one-by-one

‘til we can’t.

Then …don’t…

- or even…

 

"Remember When…"

 

Remembering how to breathe is hard

and wanting to is even …harder

…ya know…

as moments gather and swirl.

Pause

stop …brighten ~ take on LIFE…

L I F E

just to soooo slowly move away

and away

and …away.

 

And THAT pain hurts -

always does, always will

- as all pain HURTS…

and builds …builds

additive

addictive

seductive

‘til its always there

IN the eyes, the life,

each breath, step, pause

…thought…

Ever cry in a daydream?

Yeah, then ya know don’tcha.

 

 

And it hasn't been a while

any while at all - since

the last visit

moment

pause

remembrance

brush

…touched within my eyes,

behind my eyes,

caught my reaching fingertips,

tugged my sleeve,

tickled my cheek -

remindingly left tears to slowly find their way

back into the ocean …of me.

 

Every tomorrow

the early morn's coffee is near,

lifeblack …dark with chilling …ghostlets…

drawing me in,

in and down - deeper

deeper into the cup -

the cusp

the nows…

the nows - of the waiting,

remaining,

paused, lost within THE stare

the stares - the times,

that forlorn we -

that we …WE… lost to memories' mysts

…as I will be then

…and am in this now.

 

You CAN hear all the hearts …bleat

-you don’t have to listen hard either.

And there IS no doubt in you at all

of what you hear, heard.  You KNOW

…exactly…

‘cause you KNOW your OWN sound so well.

 

You CAN ignore it

…but…

you KNOW you can’t

…can’t…

because it’s who you are

and always will be.

 

And each damn echo gathers

round and around

tighter and oh so close,

you FEEL the breaths -

theirs, yours …taken -

each …in - exhaled,

…lost… each forever

never ever left behind but …gone.

And faces pause

so many …faces,

so many

- eyes -

gazing in, lives reaching …in,

moments re-breathed

each “now” shared - re-shared ‘til the echoes

come again

and again

each …staying, grasping, holding

‘til torn away -

their promising of tomorrows

- some that came and others

that didn’t - couldn’t -

fading, cascading into the next

and next.

 

And the times …are “nows”

flowing as all the “nows” always do

and life …life… happens

again

and again

…and there ARE smiles

and tears

…and TEARS…

‘til there aren’t

…tomorrows.

 

Chris

Author's Note

Feel free

Reviews

[Laconic Meraki]

This writing really spoke to me.
"Hellos and Goodbyes;
For now. Farewell.
I wish you well.
Hello darlin'-once again
Echos I hear. Echo of the past
The seasons change.
Ill watch it
Begin again."
-c

[Chris]

Hello, Nice of you to stop by and pause a bit. I do hope you return.

Be safe,
Chris

[Wicahpi]

I just don't even have words .. but it all boils down to the very last line .. which therein reminds me to grab hold of the tears and smiles and be grateful for each 'now'.

[Chris]

We ALL have the words - we live them...

[Little Whisper]

This write made me catch my breath.... and reach for a tissue. How do you do that?

[Chris]

Thought-full-ly...it's what we as poets do.

[Fran Marie]

each day of our life.spjns
us in so many directions
recorded in our memory
the past a n d present
come together

so many good and bad
memories always there never
letting us forget.and the
present recounting and adding
more..a time for introspection
of our thoughts ..the smiles .
tears and faces in our thoughts
and we die a little more with
each day we live..

[barleygirl]

The trajectory of reading this feels like a spiral. In the beginning, you circle around the wide general idea of the journey, then little by little, your circling becomes more intense & vivid, as if "winding up" into the essence of your message. This resembles the way remembering can feel, vague at first, then winding up in intensity. This is a poster child for SHOW AND TELL . . . your writing style SHOWS what your story TELLS! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Stephany]

Some people will say...
it is not the life you lived,
but how you lived it.

I think it is a co-existence

The more days on this earth,
the more thoughts, the more
we(s), the more you (s) and the more I(s)
create more threads to weave
the tapestry of our life.

To acknowledge the less than lustrous moments
is to find the path that lets us
smile when the sun warms our face just right,
and the coffee tastes ever so delightful
you know..when it fills our nose with a rich aroma
and we know....before we take a sip
that it is perfect

Each and every glimpse
hidden behind or underneath
joy or sorrow is the living epitaph
of our existence.

Some days are easy
others not so much
but they are our days
and how we chose to honor them
is the definition of who we are

[Chris]

This was REALLY appreciated! Well said!

[Stephany]

Thanks Chris! It's been awhile

[Eilis]

gram linski recommended your poem very highly to me. I’m glad to read it. Have read it several times as a matter of fact in an effort to fully absorb it.

Having been sharing/collaborating in online forums since I began writing less than a decade ago, I connected a lot of what you said here to the friendships that I have been privileged enough to experience but that haven inevitably faded. Some pass on and others move on and, like the path of life itself, we must also keep moving. But moving forward doesn’t mean forgetting. Maybe it becomes an exercise in seeking other types of meaning or connection while also honoring that which has gone before.

Your poem gave me the feeling of birth to death in a sense. A timeline of human experience moving through each one of us. And I like the way your words allow room for multiple reactions to the encounters we face. Much is difficult and emotionally challenging, but when we get through a thing we have a richness that dusts us. Being able to share our journey with others who understand us at intervals is wonderful. But even that holds some hardship in the losing.

I thought this was a beautiful, sweeping exploration. Life gives and takes and gives again. I suppose as receivers we are absorbers of both the wonderful and painful. The balance of life. Glad to read your take on the journey.

[Chris Shaw]

I got lost in the maze of you. It was quite a journey to find my way out. Yes quite an experience. Life for some people can be a lonely place. That's how your poem made me feel Chris.

Chris

[Einstein Noodle]

especially like this:
"Ever cry in a daydream?" no never :)
whenever you say "now" ... i try to sit there with you attempting to find a state of "no mind" ... and like your poem thoughts of all kinds swirl in and out of the screen behind me eye ... so inclusive of memories ..how can they not be? repetitions worked in a powerful way form me at first but further on kind of weakened for me ... pretty incredible write ... hard to cover so many aspects of one's life in one bundle .. regrets .. so many "laters" ... and ahhhhhhhh the music :) and the pain ... always the pain .. the great teacher ... the longing and hunger ... a life review with nothing missing ... invites reading over at least several times ... thanks for sharing Chirs ... we wake up full to the brim and buzzing .. how will we ever handle the letting go ... one fisted finger at a time i suppose :) deep and mystical write ... loaded with one's concrete experiences .. i will be thinking about this one today for sure .. the irony of your closing seems the answer offered ... as there aren't tomorrows are there :))))))))))))))))))))))))) love and joy sir!
E.

[gram linski]

it's like the last chord of love reverberating and echoing, feeding back looping , the soundtrack to the passing of Life and memories and growth, awesome poem, Chris