Life Is In The Details

  

As life begins to age before your eyes

Every second becomes a New York minute

And with every blink a dog year passes by.

 

Before you know it the giggle of the kids

Turns into sighs of growing pains

And you don’t even recognize

The laugh lines on their faces

Or what makes tears pour out.

 

Good friends and favorite music

Become a foreign subject

As you become engrossed

In adult responsibilities.

 

The spouse is just another face

You pass on the busy street

With a simple greeting

As your rushing to the grind.

 

Soon you can’t recall

The last time you just sat and talked

About the little things in life

And achieving hopes and dreams.

 

When did you last explored

Each other’s anatomy

While intimate breaths

Merged together getting lost in space.

 

Trying so hard to give the family

Everything their heart’s desire

When in the end love is biggest priority.

 

Remember the smell of a rose

Or the feel of the grass tickling your feet?

Mother nature at its finest.

 

Can you recall the words to your favorite song?

Shouting it at the top of your lungs

As your imagination sings backup.

 

Have you ever read an epitaph

That said, “I wish I could have worked more”?

 

Sometimes it’s easy to forget

Life is in the details

Death is in black and white.

 

 

Reviews

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How incredibly timely this is for me. I was out of town this weekend and found many tears flowing down my cheeks. I was at a wedding ... a wonderful wedding of two who have been together since they were each about 13. This was one of those weddings that one knows should take place. They are each about 25 today. Trouble is I really do not know what my tears were for. My dear sweet husband said with nothing but love: "You are sappy." I knew that the tears related to the present joy, the sadness of life gone, the goodness of life lived and the yearning for things not experienced. But mainly I knew that the tears flowed for those Lifetime Marker Events. I knew that I wished to write a poem but was quite lost as it is not my typical write. Your wonderful work has given me some direction. Thank you.

[Larissa G.]

Marvelous. This is one of my least favorite things about what society has done to people and family circles, and you presented each flaw wonderfully.
Thank you for sharing, and always keep writing.

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Details . . . yes . . . life is full of so many details that we somehow, someway, choose to ignore. I say "choose" because we all have the capacity to define what is most important in our lives. Is it the "ordinary grind"? Unfortunately, in the world we live in, most of us are doing our best, just to survive. Which, can attribute to our "lack" of recognizing and appreciating all of the small miracles that surround us.

All I have to hold onto is faith. Faith in myself. Faith in the future.

Faith.

But, through reading your poem, I saw so much of myself and my past marriage.

It's hard, and somewhat impossible to have faith, when the other does not.

And through years of struggling with this concept, I decided to claim my own destiny.

A sad ending, but a bright and shiny new beginning.

Thank you for sharing this. You have a gift, my friend.

A rare and precious gift.

[Kelly D. Burris]

Great eye opening piece with wonderful visuals, and described situations so artfully. I'm glad I chose to stop and drink in the little things in life quite sometime ago. I try to enjoy it all.
Savoring all the loved ones God has given us is just something everyone needs to do, if not they miss out on what life is truly about. It makes it so much sweeter.
And ...Sam Cooke's ballad, "You send me", is the song for my Husband and I, it replays quite a bit for me, and still makes smile after 21+ years :)
Nice reminder for me at how changing my focus on how I live life, is something I'll never regret, tho switching gears and changing habits may not be easy.
Thanks Dale

[Wildfleour]

Life is in the gray, for sure. We need to be experience our "Present" more because it really does pass by quickly! That is for sure!

Great write, my friend!

[Carole]

WOW-you sure hit the nail squarely on the head with this one! This should be shouted from the mountain tops. My favorite was this:

Have you ever read an epitaph

That said, "I wish I could have worked more"?

Though I chuckled on this part, I can honestly say, "No" I haven't read that on a tombstone yet. We just visited Arlington National Cemetary in January and that wasn't on a single one of them...

Thanks for the refreshing read! Carole

[desertraven]

ringing bells of truth... great piece.
Sandra

[JC]

"You're gonna miss this"
Trace Adkins
A wonderful writing about how we just go about our lives and then blam, we are at the end wondering what happened. Carpe Diem, Stop and smell the roses, all rolled up in one.

The ending is superb!

JC

[Jacque]

I am speechless, thank you. I am planning on reading much more of your work!

[Winter McPherson]

Thanks for reminding us all to stop and smell the flowers and what life is really all about.

[Ladysue]

Dale, I love this so much. People can get caught up in the daily grind of things and forget to stop and remember those details. I have learned through the years just how precious those details are. This is a poignant poem with a very phenomenal message! The last five lines pack a very powerful ending and are so full of truth!! Excellent, Dale!