Rewind Poem by Russ von Ohlhausen

It was late, the air was filled with shadow;
The only sounds I hear, waves of echo.
Playing videos of memories over in my mind,
As if looking for something more I have to find.

Frozen frames of warm days grown cold,
Forgotten reasons for the words I was told.
Faces and places, clips of some remnant of time,
Feelings unfamiliar, still I know they’re mine.

Angles of light I can’t remember, just a sense I was there.
Image revealed in background, slow it down to stare,
Some moment relived in flood of well-hid pain;
Life I’d rather not see again playing on my brain.

Scene left grainy and digitized,
Edits of hopes never realized.
Cuts left on the floor, misdirected pieces of regret.
Reminding my memories to remember to forget.

Stuck in pointless thoughts of technicolored yesterday
Can’t cover my eyes from the dramas I replay.
Can’t erase what I want to leave behind,
The unwanted dailies forever in rewind.