Eclipse

This is a little more recent. I hope it's not too emo-sounding!

From youth, his head was in the clouds.

One misstep after another;

but he told himself it would all work out.

He wore his heart

proudly on his sleeve,

his hazel eyes

ablaze with youthful passion.

Before the wars,

before the moon eclipsed the sun

and light was blighted by darkness,

the colors of autumn

were as beautiful as ever.

Days, times, measures

meant little

and all that mattered

were love, happiness,

and how the first

could lead to the second.

The effort to soar

became too great,

but walking on earth

was something he never learned.

The untrodden path

was always laid before him.

Life’s “boundless” opportunities

are really fragile underneath.

Are our paths not decided

by the choices in our past?

The hazel eyes

now have a ring of grey around

the outside.

They have seen much

but not enough.

The grey may eclipse them

before long.

The faded sleeve is enclosed

in a drawer.

The weathered heart beats still.

When the sun comes out again,

may the heart as well?