Something to Hold on to
A visit–
the first in four years.
I am not who I was back then.
They haven’t changed.
A long weekend
stretched out by
stilted conversations
and uncomfortable silences.
Hugs are exchanged
as hellos and goodbyes,
impersonal and loose.
There’s nothing to hold on to
anyway.
A family reunion–
the first in four years
and maybe the last
depending on how
fate and time decide
to intertwine their hands
with chance.
A lifetime missed,
both sides to blame,
and no way to revive
something that is long dead–
if it ever even took a breath.
When you’re looking back,
don’t lean too far
down the rabbit hole,
lest you should fall in.
There’s nothing
to hold on to.
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I love how the last stanza contradicts the title–brilliant! Here are some of my favorite lines: “Hugs are exchanged/as hellos and goodbyes,/impersonal and loose”; “no way to revive/something that is long dead-/if it ever even took a breath.” The way the fourth stanza pays homage to the first is also clever; it furthers the story and offers the reader a more refined perspective. Nicely done, as per usual! 🙂