IN SIXTY-EIGHT AND NINE

Little did we know

how deep the water,

Claudia, Adrianne, Joe, and I,

we on the precipice,

preparing for the dive

of our lives.

We lept out like bees

into honey and

sailed past the sparrows

and weeds in the rocks.

Our bellies lighter than air,

our minds longing for the deep;

arms outstretched to catch the wind.

We lived among the gulls

waiting for some depth

so deep, we could not see,

ever see again

how clear the air we left behind.

Claudia found a crystal cave

and Joe has landed in the hallowed

hollows of our dreams.

The honey was too thick for them

and joy beyond their wings.

Adrienne fled to the frosty north

and soars beyond our means.

I live in tattered shadows now

remembering all these things.

Author's Note

This is a very personal poem, the names not changed, and they made the core of me...

Reviews

[Ayvid N]

Youth has such a dreamy and euphoric quality to it. This is the time we wish to soar above and beyond the tallest peaks and dive below the deepest deep. We feel the cosmos is ours to conquer and grab all of it completely. Sadly, it passes away all too soon and we find ourselves with answers less awesome than we imagined. Each friend gifted a unique destiny, taken away to places unimaginable by forces beyond bounds. This is such an emotional and moving poem, dear Vol. We are left with but shadows indeed....

[Vol]

Thanks again, Divya, for stopping by for a peek into my core. I was fortunate to have the experience of "growing up" from 16-20 during all the best of times . We grew the hair, listened to Hendrix, Clapton and a million others smoked weed, and dropped acid in the "Summer of Love" My memories of those times and those people I loved are fraught with the sense of loss and a decent into an angry, mundane world. Peace, Baby!
Vol

[Lorry]

I take it from the title at least Vol, that these were friends from your younger days, who shared those special moments and soundtrack to your lives.
Of how we go our separate ways in life, before the eternal interconnectedness of the Web made things like that possible.
I was actually thinking how different life would have been with an online presence back then, and then friends reunited came along and proved it would be a few, rare memories you would want to catch up with and the rest would just be a collection of numbers and emails you would forget to use.
But there are always those who shared your special times, away from the Crowds and the me, me Me's, who think of a story isn't about them, then it ain't worth hearing about.
It's these friends and friendships that made these days special and I think that's what we miss.
Sometimes it's best not to know the reality, but sometimes it's worth scratching that itch to find out how their path continued after we all diverged for differing reasons.
We can remember the times with pride at being a part of something, and keep the memories of them alive that way.
I remember about ten years or so ago, bumping into someone I had been at school with, who I really liked, but thought she was a league or two above me. After a brief conversation, that turned into a sequence of remembrances of what happened to him, her and etc, turned into something like watching the deleted scenes from platoon, as she informed me of this death, that disease and everything in between.
I really did spoil a lot of memories that day, as she has now become the Mistress of doom in my mind, as she took great joy in catching me up to a story I wish I'd never read.
The only good news she gave me was that I hadn't changed a bit and how she instantly recognised me, despite the glasses, thinning hair and lack of school uniform.
Ah, those were the days my friend! 😊

[Vol]

Lorry,
I had a unique High School experience. It began at one known for its championships in every sport and our band as well. People moved into our town so their kids could go there. When they built a new HS , those of us who were in the new district were given a choice, stay or go to the new one which which offered a much more intense education. Everyone who chose knew went because we wanted to learn. I studied college level humanities in my junior year, My friends and I would audit night classes in comparative religions and philosophy for fun. We were nerds of th highest order. We were close in a special way. And now there aren't mny of us left. Unfortunately, the world ain't like that, and since our diaspora, it has been my goal to find friends who can measure up. It has been tough, but that's why I love this site... compadres galore! Just read the literature and meet the interesting intellect!
My friends

[Lorry]

And just like every high school, it's got its own cliques, as it has asshats and all kind of instantly forgettables too!
We should just be happy that these people were in our lives in the first place, it even makes the instantly forgettables more forgettable than... I can't remember what I was going to say, but no matter, it was probably something instantly forgettable in the first place.
And I think I win the award for saying the most instantly forgettable in one post award.... I bet they forget to give me it though! 😊

[Ken Simm.]

This is full of true sadness and tragedy. That, it could be said is the core of its beauty. We remember, in our youthful and perhaps better ways it also seems these things precisely because of the tragedy. A wonderful if melancholic write.

[Zoe Richardson]

Arcing for the dive into adulthood is a bit like jumping headfirst into a deep swimming hole. I love the phrase 'We leapt out like bees into honey.' There are other phrases that stir the melancholy. That feeling of losing one's innocence, one's childhood friends, one's youthful idealism. But do not despair. I too, live now in the tattered shadows. Would you like to share my candle and help me curse the darkness?