The Ties That Bind

“In your life you meet people. Some you never think about again. Some, you wonder what happened to them. There are some that you wonder if they ever think about you. And then there are some that you wish you never have to think about again. But you do.” ~C.S. Lewis

 

Family isn't always blood... They say all of us are made up of stardust... coalesced, tamed, bits of obfuscation undone for our earthly existence... Then you meet people...rather molded, evolved, neatly bundled sprigs of astral matter, but with the same ancient, galactic roots... you meet and then depart... perhaps never to meet again... but the endearing, ever-expanding rings of cognitive powers are never broken... you may meander away and these channels of circulating energy may stretch and fade, but they never stop flowing... like sinister, gurgling mountain brooks they would betray your sights but still travel over alien lands, unraveled meadows and misty moors....

 

Imagine yourself somewhere in distant time... somewhere not exactly at the threshold of your life... it's a cold, frosty afternoon... and you are shredding rosemary leaves for that added aroma to permeate in the onion soup gently simmering away in the kitchen.... the wee hours of evening crawl by with that added nip in your Middleborough neighborhood.... the windows shut tight... there's nobody at home... it's getting quieter...

 

Then your lips curl themselves into a smile... all of a sudden and out of the blue, like a swift blade wafting through those abstruse, fogged bygone years... What was his name?... That lanky, buck-toothed boy in the high school years... He always used to lollygag and prowl around with that callous, stupid smile... fancied himself to be one of the group didn't he?... Yep, sort of hero-worshiped me... swooning over my vocal skills... wanted to be a singer himself... Hah! We used to snigger about the nancy-pancy, wishy-washy stuff he called music! His favorite band- Iron and Wine!! Shush!

 

"Pipetty-Pan", that's what we called him right? After Peter Pan... quite a bit of cartoon he was! I still remember how my friends howled and I cringed when he gave me that horrible, yellow Moosejaw jacket on the farewell day… just took it and turned away.... didn't even smile at that round, flustered face... Now that I think of it, nice little guy he was.... cheerful, polite... not much into dude-stuff...but hey! He just wanted to be a friend!

 

Didn't bother to be in touch after school got over. He did join some music school in Europe, didn't he? Or so I heard...Dunno...

Ugh!!! That's the soup burning... and you skip off to your kitchen.... with some mulled memories buzzing in the emptiness....

 

Sometimes people leave a part of them with you... Needn't be LA-quaking, kiss-my-hem-will-you kind rock-stars or demi-gods...Simple, kind, loving people... that old, sandy haired florist selling sunflowers at Ripon Street who offers your little girl one every day with a wink of a battered eyelid, your house-keeper who would bring you home-cooked porridge every Sunday.. Yes just like that! your lonely neighbor- that grey haired, toothless lady living in the duplex, whom the children call the "Witch-of-Blackbird-Pond", who would smile her toothless grin every time she stopped by and then would weep as she told about her son who looked just like you and eloped with that Mexican girl and never returned....

 

Yes people touch you... in more ways than one...in ways you didn't intend to be touched... but they sprinkle their share of stardust...knowingly or unknowingly... and sometimes in the span of ephemeral years that we spend on this blue-green planet, they raise their tender shoots from long-sown buds to bring back those once-upon-a-time, long-lost forgotten stories...

 

Yes sometimes people still love you.... no matter what.

 

 

 

Author's Note

Writing after a long time... And it's not a poem! Been away for a really long time... Never get to sit down quietly and write for professional commitments...These are just some random thoughts that spurted out all of a sudden...So decided to pen them down... Not a story really...And I know I haven't been around for quite a some time to read any of my friends' writings... Any thoughts on this piece is much appreciated :)

Reviews

[Victoria PoetryBunny]

I'm glad you got to write this lovely write, I enjoyed it. You have a lot of great thoughts in this, a heart touching write really. I really love that quote you added from C.S. Lewis. I also really like the descriptions of people you place in this writing like this part here:

"sandy haired florist selling sunflowers at Ripon Street who offers your little girl one every day with a wink of a battered eyelid, your house-keeper who would bring you home-cooked porridge every Sunday"

I also found myself liking this part:

"Yes people touch you... in more ways than one...in ways you didn't intend to be touched... but they sprinkle their share of stardust...knowingly or unknowingly"

[Juliet]

This is absolutely fantastic. It's honest and well written. I can't give enough compliments to this. It made me think on a deeper level than a lot of what I'm used to reading here. I need to guy buy more thumbs to put up for this. Congrats.

[Mike Emil]

ARRGH!!!
needs more mention of brandy
and cocktail weenies
there were no bats either
i'll have to re-read this to be sure

[gombeggar]

interesting pic 2 go along with this...would make a fine cover for yer book or an album...the writ was very well done as well...very thoughtful...perhaps u should write on with this line of thought and continue this page

[Stanley Wilson]

great work had to read a few times as the change in fonts distracted me. Maybe that was the plan!

[Leslie Philibert]

Like this a lot..lollygag is fantastic ( I collect words, we are poets ), nice use of fonts, a text that deserves a more careful revieiw than I ( sadly ) have time to produce !

[Dayran]

hi Aaran ... how're you doing? I guess you wanted to get someplace ... and this write shows that place ... high in the sky where eagles fly ... interchangeably between dimensions and time zones ... for that one glimpse of the created existence ... and perhaps to find your place in it.

It reads like sunshine over the roofs of homes and the grasses in the fields. It speaks of seeing things again ... with new eyes. It speaks of new visions and perhaps new promises ... creating new choices. Interesting!

[Coyote Poetry]

Good to be able to read your words again. I agree with the story. Some people will stay with us. Their deeds and activities will stay with us forever. I like the quote and the reason for the story. I like the closing line to the excellent story.
Coyote

[Robbie~xoxo~]

It's so great to read you again, my friend!
I was wondering when you would come back...oh boy, did you come back!..and with a beautifully written story...

I love your message of unforgettable connections...of wonderful ties that bind us together. We are touched by compassion and random acts of kindness.

I enjoyed every bit of your story, and the last line is the icing on the cake!
Well done!~xoxo~:)