The older I get,the more interested I am in memories and friends of the past. This past year, I attended two high school reunions. One was where I graduated and one was where I would have graduated had we not moved.
There was the opportunity to reconnect and catch up with many people. There were a lot of past friends who I was very happy to see. And there were many friends who I had hoped to see who did not make the reunions.
There is a flurry, a whirlwind, of visiting and catching up. You wish that you had never let those friendships fade. But after a brief time, the whirlwind blows away, taking those memories with it. But hopefully the love and friendship is not gone completely.
Whirlwind in the Garden
Once a small, lovely garden;
Many years had passed.
The memory of it's beauty,
Not forgotten, but distant past.
As over years of time,
Love and friendships made,
If not nurtured tenderly
Will all too often fade.
Untended, unwatered garden,
Growing nothing but weeds,
Sudden surprising flower appears
Not from planted seeds.
A flower so unexpected,
So amazing, so delightful,
So fragrant, so colorful,
So absolutely beautiful.
Pulling weeds meticulously,
For days I cared for her.
Watering and fertilizing,
For days I admired her.
Heat of the summer afternoon,
A playful whirlwind approaching,
Zigging, zagging across the yard
Until garden flower encroaching.
Hesitating, the forward movement
Stopping and no longer drifting,
As the winds were swirling,
Flower petals were lifting.
Gleaming in the sunlight,
Flower colors were swirling
As the beautiful colors
Of the petals were twirling.
Each of the petals representing
Treasured thoughts in my mind,
Spinning of many memories
That would be left behind.
Colorful whirlwind blows away
And I begin to wonder why?
Then wondering just how far
Those memories would Fly.
The joy my heart has felt,
The beauty my eyes have seen.
And the garden whirlwind
Has left a sprig of Green.
Steven A. Green