Gaping Silences

Tides come and go,

Sands shift, waves dance.

Leaves fall and grow

Birds fly-die-fly.

People meet

Then walk away.

That's the thing about time.

It changes.

Hearty laughs, loud parties,

Shared shoulders, long talks,

Turn, oh so quickly, into

Gaping silences.

They creep upon us unseen

Unsaid resentments

Smiley faced disdain

Unspoken jealousies.

Incommunicado.

Gaping, staring, sad silences

Yawning chasms

Bottomless pools of regrets

Happy, merry times

Torn asunder.

Pieces disintegrate

Into ashes

Which are never reborn.

A funeral unattended

A mourning done alone.

Hiding heartbreaks

Behind a mask of ego.

Feelings of neglect

Bidden away with smiles

Gnawing bitterness

Pushed back with wit.

Unshed tears

Coming undone

At inopportune moments

Squared shoulders

And straight spines

Egos petted

Hearts beaten down.

And we learn to let go.

Whatever that even means

Does anybody really know?

Reduced to guilt trips

In surreptitious visits

To the attic of memories

Tucked away in musty corners.

Gaping Silences.