Tuesday, October 29, 2024

All We Have Are Memories

 
Couple sitting on bench by sea looking out reflecting.

 "Reflection" - Bahamas AI art
©A. Derek Catalano
 
 

All We Have Are Memories

I.

The sun fades softly on the distant hills,
Casting shadows long as time itself.
Whispers of days gone by linger in the still,
Their echoes resting on an old, dusty shelf.

A photograph, now worn with age,
Corners curling, colors dimmed by years,
But still it holds a fleeting glimpse—a page
From life, now blurred by laughter, loss, and tears.

The faces smile through decades’ haze,
Eyes bright with hopes we used to know,
Their dreams were like the summer days—
Brief, beautiful, and full of glow.

All we have are memories, they say,
Like fragile stars in a fading sky.
Moments vanish, nights turn to day,
But memories never truly die.


II.

In the attic, where silence gathers dust,
A music box hums a forgotten tune.
Its melody speaks of youth and trust,
Of dancing beneath a pale, silver moon.

We were wild then, like untamed seas,
The world was wide, our spirits free.
The years ahead seemed infinite,
But time, we found, was a fleeting gift.

We walked on beaches where the waves would kiss
Our footprints, washing them into the past.
We didn’t know that what we’d miss
Was how the moment would never last.

All we have are memories, they whisper,
In the quiet hours before the dawn.
Ghosts of laughter grow dim and fainter,
But through the heart, they linger on.

III.

Do you recall the scent of autumn’s breath?
The leaves that spiraled, red and gold,
The way we laughed at the thought of death
When we believed we’d never grow old.

But the clock kept ticking, slow and sure,
And life, as it does, began to change.
We drifted far from what was pure,
Chasing dreams that felt strange.

The letters stopped; the seasons turned,
People came and people left.
We learned how much the heart could yearn,
For things we lost, for words unsaid.

All we have are memories, like sighs
That fill the empty spaces in our minds.
They’re fleeting clouds in vast, gray skies,
But they remain when all else declines.

IV.

Now, as twilight draws its velvet shade,
We sit beneath a sky of stars,
Remembering all the plans we made—
Some within reach, some beyond so far.

There’s comfort in these fragile things,
These moments stored within the soul.
They flutter by on unseen wings,
A gentle balm that makes us whole.

For every tear, there was a smile,
For every fear, a brave reply.
We held each other, if just for a while,
And in that, we found our why.

All we have are memories, we know,
Fading like firelight’s final spark.
But in their glow, a soft afterglow,
They guide us through the endless dark.

V.

The future stands a silent door,
A path unknown, untraveled, wide.
We wonder what lies on that shore,
But we’ll walk it, side by side.

And when the world forgets our name,
When dust reclaims our place in time,
These memories will still remain—
A soft refrain, a gentle rhyme.

So as the stars blink out above,
And all the moments intertwine,
We carry them with hope and love,
A legacy that will survive.

All we have are memories, true and kind,
Etched in the chambers of our heart.
Though time may dim and fate unwind,
They’re the light that guides us when we part.

VI.

So let us hold these treasures dear,
For in them lives the joy we sought.
Each memory, a whispered prayer,
A life well-lived, a lesson taught.

Though days may blur and years may pass,
Though hands grow frail and eyes grow dim,
The past reflects like shattered glass,
Each shard a glimpse of love within.

All we have are memories, this is true,
But they’re enough to see us through.
In the quiet of the final night,
Memories become our guiding light.

 
©A. Derek Catalano/ChatGPT