Little moments that go by too fast
Sharing thoughts over drinks
It's not meant to last
Doesn't make it any less incredible
It's not the grand gestures
That make big impressions
A broken cookie & icing on your nose
Silly things that take so little
Yet mean so much more

Starting an adventure doesn't
Take a huge leap
Just a few steps
A bit of planning
Some hope
A decent amount of determination
And finding the way to set aside
Any fears of failure

There aren't any right words
You can put them in the
Grammatically correct order
You can say them in a way
That is considered politically correct
But none of that really matters
When it comes from the heart
When you say it simply because
You need to say it
The truth may hurt
The joke may fall flat
The meaning might be misunderstood
Saying it may make you feel stupid
But if you say the words with
No ill intent
Then they are never wrong
Nor idiotic or dumb
And should not be kept inside
For it would be worse
To have to say later
That you never tried

My coffee has gone lukewarm
As I sort through the
Distorted pictures and words written
On faded pages of paper
I can flip through the past
Change it or rearrange it
But I can't make it new
These are only memories
Glimpses of what may have happened
They just weigh me down
Letting me put my life on pause
While I reminisce about
What could have been
Or linger on the "good times"
I'm not saying I'm ready to throw it
All away or that I really need to
But it's time to set it all aside
Not worry if I remember each
Of the moments just right or
If they fall in the correct order
I've learned what I can from them
I'm ready to be rid of the weight
To feel even just a bit lighter
Like my nearly back coffee
A little creamer to cut the bitterness
Of the dark roast
I drink it down savoring the last bit
Of warmth in the ceramic mug
Knowing my past is just part of me
But like a job or name or title
It does not define me
But maybe what I've lived through
Has made me a bit stronger
Even more ready to deal
With each day to come
From now on

Next Chapter...

The past may be behind me
But I still feel it's pull on me
Like I was never successful
At sawing through the chains
They still tug at me like stains
On my shirt reminding me
Of mistakes made
Of spilled milk that I haven't
Learned to ignore and let
Someone else deal with for once
Always cleaning up others messes
While my ever growing stresses
Rise like a wave about to break
I'm tired of being scared of taking
That leap forward and making
A drastic change
I don't really know what I want
I don't really know what I'm afraid of
While my life was on pause
The rest of the wold moved on
Others learned, saw, lost, and fought
Now it's my turn to make a move
To put blinders on the past
Let it be no more than the last
Chapter in a book that can be
Reread but must be set aside
For the next volume
For adventure awaits in the next pages
I can't check the back for answers
I have to have faith in the choices
I make from this moment forward
No matter the worries that whisper
In my ear and darken my peripheral
I need to trust in the direction I take