The Memories Outside My Window

Wind beats the window pane

like an old friend begging

come outside, come outside!

Looking through slotted blinds,

clouds hang dark and low,

the last leaves of spring fall away

fluttering slowly down joining the rest.

I see my life playing like a movie

just outside my window.

I see New Year’s Eve 2006,

plastic champagne flutes raised in the air

some cracked on the ground.

I see my brother running with friends

through confetti littered streets,

green yellow red strips of paper

soon to be dew soaked

and stuck to the asphalt.

I see our elderly neighbors smile

through scarves and hooded coats.

their lips parting, short breaths rise

accompanying fire pit smoke.

They realize the next generation

is going to turn out alright.

I see a community, neighbors huddled close,

another Christmas tree added to the fire

filling the air with the last scents of Christmas