~ Memories ~

Floating 
like petals in the wind
memories of our journeys
dance through my mind.

Each delicate and unique
and chasing each other
in intricate spirals.

Sometimes moving so quickly
as to become one unending
tornado of color.

Some break away
caught in unseen currents
and drift out of sight
forgotten.

Finding their way to the flowing river,
they rest gently on the surface 
and are carried away
lost forever.

As I sit on the banks
watching those that remain
remembering, smiling
and sometimes crying
I can feel you close to me.

Reaching out 
and into the ever changing swarm of color,
I close my hand and bring one close
feeling it fluttering 
like a trapped butterfly 
against my palm.

Some I let go to rejoin the others
Some I keep, 
pressing them between the pages of my mind
ever close 
so I can remember them again and again.