The Passing

The change, it comes so slowly

Like the winter of our lives,

It encroaches while we’re playing,

While we’re laughing with our wives,

As the children wave goodbye

The first brief chill will still the air,

And that silence settles on us

As they turn, and close the door.

 

Then we stare long at each other

But we find no words to say,

You have been the faithful mother

That I married, back some way,

But I see your smile has faded

With the passing of the years,

And you turn your face away so I

Won’t see that trace of tears.

 

Are you thinking of that moment

When you held that new born child,

Of the joy of those first steps, or of

The day your baby smiled?

And the schooling and the learning

And the knees they brought home skinned,

Or the pride you took each time you watched

That graduation film.

 

While I find my own thoughts turning

To those days before we wed,

To your awesome, breathless beauty

As you passed, and turned my head,

Of that first-time kiss I savoured

Out beneath the apple tree,

When I took you to my heart, and you

First said you wanted me.

 

Now we’re grey, and more like shadows

Since the lust in us has died,

And we rarely touch each other

Since we turned to ash inside,

For the years of work and struggle

Took their toll on you and I,

And I hear you every evening as

You go outside to cry.

 

All those dreams that ended shattered,

All those hopes that turned to tears,

Here we sit, both disillusioned

With the tolling of the years,

And we pass our friends unseeing

As we wander in the street,

We are ghosts, a long time passing

Now our story is complete.

 

We are like the leaves of autumn

That have fallen from the trees,

Blowing through our days unspoken

With each passing, gentle breeze,

We will fade and be forgotten

In the long term way of things,

But we’ll cling in desperation for

What each last moment brings.

 

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Deborah Brooks-Langford]

David.. wow..another poem that tears my heart out. geezzz I am in those years... this poem means so much to me.. gee can i explain???? how time takes away so much from our lives..from being disillusion to so many tears... wishing we could have love back the way it used to be... wow.. what can I say... GREAT WRITING... I LOVE IT... You just not know how much,.. I am a new fan of yours...

Debbie

[JM Russell]

The golden years as they are called are filled with some regret and memories of years past. It's a moving poem but of lost lust and youth.

[Undying Glory]

now this was just awesome. i love the rhyming here, this really seems to have a rhythm of its own which is very nice. this was very beautiful work, and it was a pleasure to read.

[Becca Bishop]

Oh. My. Goodness. How do you come up with this beautiful stuff???!!! I loved it!! Loved it, loved it, loved it!!! Especially the last stanza....wow.....

[Mockingbird]

when all they have is each other they should celebrate the tough times they faced together and stayed together. just because the kids are grown and away, it doesn't mean they are useless. very cynical poem. nice, though

[lee von cleef]

Desperation,of love,intent erased,years blind,the old we had on today.you paint so well,though the view,is a true weight on life's shoulders.Time is such a sponge to life.

[william keepers]

What can I say David? Simply amazing. In a nutshell you have captured a lifetime in a general way, yet with incredible clarity. I think every person who reads this will relate to this in some way regardless of where they are at in their lives.

[Tomi]

Wow, wow, wow, wow! i'm not so sure i've read anything this 'heartbreakingly' beautiful! wow!

[Becky C Strukamp]

I must admit this brought me to tears. Your rendition of this life that two people journeyed into sharing love and life, witnessing the wonderments life brings to us and loosing part of oneself in the end. A very poignant poem, yet it brings us to an awareness of ourselves one that we can change that time will not render us lost in desperation.

Your write beautifully. Thanks for sharing your writings!

[Onyia-Ali, Kingsley Chu..]

I love how the imagery of love is unveil till the last drop when it grew dim but keep on burning in desperation. The alternate rhyme is remarkable too. Thanks

[Pure Hope]

This is hauntingly beautiful. I choose to believe that there is more than one way to keep the burning love alive. As for being remembered... I have realized that since I couldn't have kids I am not going to be remembered. C'est la vie. I really enjoy your writing style. ~jennifer