There was a time that I was happy
there were nights when ‘mares did cease.
There was a time when day felt eternal
but those times, my mind did erase.

My heart has coughed and heaved - now weary.
A tired soldier returning from the lines of war.
It wonders why it continues even pounding
when it knows not what its true purpose is for

Why does it love when it only falls to aching
and then loneliness, bitterness, heartache and woe?
Why does it promise that the next day will be better
when even in our minds, we otherwise know.

There was a time when a smile graced me
and a light radiated from my soul’s fragile core.
There was a time when I’d do anything for you
without ever asking you for a favor more.

Calendars fall and clocks eventually stand still.
Time has a funny way of fading beyond
our comprehension and into our forgotten dreams
to be forgotten when the cold night is done.

I wish that I could be happy now. Dear Lord,
let me once again laugh with a child’s true glee.
For there was once a time that I was happy.
Or perhaps it was the happiness that once had me.

©May 21, 2004 3-minute free write
Lori S. Maynard