Sadness…
            by Odin Roark

Remembrances stand invincible.
The school yard dissing.
The last pick for a ball game team.
The inward eyes of rejection.

Regrets abound unavoidable.
No amount of blame-game works.
Mistakes are forever,
even though avoidable next time.

Aspirations flourish.
Youth knows so well the rush.
Middle age knows so well the reality.
Later age knows so well change is inevitable,
even as conscious minds move cautiously,
yet determined.

Feelings evolve.
Some dream retirement,
others so alive,
so real to the reflection at hand,
wonder why it took so long.

Snapshots of a mind’s scrapbook
delivers mixed emotions.
Hope lunges forth.
“Hey, you, that all you’ve left, Mr. Fella, Lady?”

Avoid the mirror.
and its conspiracy to…
well, you know.

Trust.  “Trust.”
You have to feel.
You have to return,
see the playground
where it all started…
and remains cyclically endless.

Sadness knows,
being one’s constant reminder of life,
nudging us to realize living through it all
is personal fear, our Mt. Everest,
that major challenge everyone eventually has to face...
and hopefully overcome.