…hugs and smiles and country
miles that stretched to sunsets
glowing golden over fields and farms
…arms that held me tight
at night when dreams evaded sleep
…days lit up like fireflies
unsullied by the stench
of smog and
nights adorned
by stars so near so clear I swear
I touched one as it wandered by
…and yes
some tears occasionally fears
that visited me like strangers
stopping by reminding me that I
was blessed reminding me
of all I had how high the stakes
how carefully to tread making
no mistakes and when I woke
each morning
I was simply glad thinking quietly how grand
it was to be a part of everything and everything
a part of me
…love and loss the cost-of-living daddy’s
hands fingers long and graceful giving
me the gift of music and a love of art
giving me the best part of his heart
before it too grew still
…I remember that
which is too priceless
to forget and yet memory grows dimmer
day by day not because of time or age
or memory loss it dims beneath
the callous careless hand of man
that’s stained the land and turned
the very air we breathe stagnant and stale
it dims because I tremble
as the future
fails and falls to grit
…what will they remember
when my bones have dried to dust
as all bones must
what will they
hopes of my heart
heart of my hopes remember
…will the echo of my words drown
out their cries?
“I tried
I tried
I tried…”
– Susan A. Katz (All rights reserved)