The Things You Remember, a Poem

Memory--that twisted thing, that manipulates our past,
Ties the world up in shiny bows, in boxes that will last
Until a time and place when it will suddenly recast--
The things you won't remember are the things you can't forget.

The broken string of friendship, the shattering of a trust,
The day the world went gray, the night that turned your soul to dust,
The time, the place, Destiny, the Fates, deemed your cause unjust--
The things you won't remember are the things you can't forget.

The death of youth's innocence, the day a childhood died,
The falling of a rising dream, heart-stabbed and broke of pride,
All the devils that were fought, and all the tears since cried--
The things you won't remember are the things you can't forget.

The touch of a lover's hand, the smell of sunshine after rain--
The thrill of secret triumph, an old hatred that was slain--
The smile of a stranger that you will never see again--
The things you can't remember are the things you won't forget.

4:18 am 2/6/11