Yesterday

Published in Wisconsin Review (2023)

 

 

“It was like yesterday,” riding bike to school

under the sun, playing with buddy and chum,

hit a home run, kick and score a goal;

a rock fest, a concert, a distant drum.

 

“It was like yesterday,” read in a book,

saw in a movie; just a tale, it must be.

A description, an image, an outlook.

Now, the story of you, me, he and she.

 

“It was like yesterday;” agony, cheers. 

A way to depict a fading memory,

a surrender to the fleeting years,

flew by like an arrow into history.

 

“Though nothing can bring back the hour

Of splendor in the grass, of glory in the flower,”

hold onto the enlightenment through bitter and sour.

Pick up broken pieces; in fear, do not cower.

 

Look beyond death, find the strength, count the knot

of blessings etched in the heart and soul,

of all the love and truth, forget them not,

cling to the gratitude amid losses and toll.