A Poem Comes (Back) to Mind

I was walking down the hallway just now, thinking about how things very seldom end up the way we expect. Sometimes, that's a very good thing; other times, not so good. I guess I've just reached an introspective part of life as I sort through "opportunities for growth" (most often perceived as  "challenges") ahead.

Suddenly, the opening lines of a poem I started, but never finished, in high school popped into my mind. High school. The teenage years. You know, that time in life where you think you've lived so much. Makes you kind of want to smile wryly, eh? But let's laugh out loud together. SCOFF! SCOFF! There. Now I feel better.

I must have started it for some English class or another, having just read a terribly scandalous novel. I know this because high school is pretty much the last time I was required to write poetry, if you don't count French class in college. And this poem was obviously in English. It went like this:

"Bittersweet are memories
Of you and me
And of the trees
Beneath which we once made love."

I'm thinking this might be a good time to revive the old poetry writing skills. Or not. Just to clarify, I'm certain that the poem doesn't reference an actual person or event. Call it artistic license.

Anyway, "bittersweet." Now, that's an interesting word for a teenager to use about anything, what with the wealth of experience your average teenager has. It holds a tantalizing sense of loss and longing. It hints at a broken heart, teary eyes, a feeling of "almost, but not quite." Reaching but not attaining.

So much of my life has been about that. Reaching but not attaining, I mean. There's no bitterness or rancor involved. There's just angst. The realization that much of life is made up of fleeting moments that, once gone, will never be recaptured.

Memories. Make yours memorable. Laugh, love, give of yourself with abandon. Who knows? You might end up with some pretty good memories that you can take out and dust off occasionally, just to revive the sensations of youth. They might even be bittersweet and bring tears to your eyes. But I guarantee they'll warm your heart.