Sometimes, I Remember by: Leria Hawkins Poem by Leria Hawkins

Sometimes I remember
I see ghosts, pale shadows
Vague reflections of yesterdays
A muddle of memories
That I left behind

They engulf me in a flurry of colors
Blue, in the shade of your eyes
Or the hot red of your whispering lips
Sometimes they're harsh and black
Like the scattered ashes of our goodbyes

I had almost forgotten the fire
The blistering heat of your proximity
I had blotted out the inevitable stumble into surrender
Denied the involuntary hitch of breath
At the moment of knowing

Memories…sometimes a blessing, too often a curse
A culmination of bittersweet agonies
To heat and cool, heat and cool
Like an echo, whispering over and over
The sweetest passions of my soul

The passing of time has soothed the ache
Slowly washed away the bitter sting
Like a healing balm, it's pushed me further and further
From thoughts and yearnings of yesteryears
Further still, from the realities of you

I had almost forgotten
The instantaneous flutter of butterflies
Or the rampant crawl of goose flesh
I had laid to rest, the consuming obsession
That is forever you and I

Memories, sometimes a nasty business
A scent, a glance, a familiar name
Spoken from the lips of a stranger
And there it is…the rush, the ache, the longing
Resurrected yet again

Yes, sometimes I remember
The phantoms from a long-forgotten dreams
They come whispering their secrets
Singing their songs of ancient history
Like a phoenix, rising from the ashes

Desires and weaknesses, faults, and flaws
So ready to escape their prison walls
Creeping up from long-hidden places
They are the demons that haunt me
Because sometimes…I remember

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