The Over Pass

The Over Pass                 4/13/2017

I remember the colors

Vivid and surreal

Technicolor memories

Of a world

Long gone by. 

A time of excitement

And also of hope

When everything seemed possible

And not mired

In the status quo. 

At least that is the way

It seemed

To my thoughts coming up

Before my worries about nothing

Clouded my eyes. 

If only I had known

Just how precious it was

And if only I had been awake

To appreciate every nuance.  

I barely knew at all

The people and the places

All of it flashing by

In a kaleidoscope of time. 

I was only scratching the surface

And I was only marking time

Sleeping in a cocoon

Unaware and dumb.

I had everything that mattered

And I had all kinds of love

But I understood nothing

And appreciated even less.

I missed all the warnings

And I missed a lot of chances

Squandered out of foolishness

And fear.

Riding my emotions

And angry over nothing

I lived without thinking

About consequences

And burdens. 

Never fully grasping

Until it was too late

That what is not paid now

Will be paid later

Doubled up

And doubled down. 

Now at the crossroads

I can see where

I have been

At last fully aware

Of the folly

And loss. 

I cannot get it back

So now I must

Turn it over

Taking it all in

And crushing it to powder.

Without suffering

There is no growth

And without loss

All victory is empty.

Glory is the prize

And no greater is the goal

To finish the fight

Good, loyal,

And defiant!