Sad Memories of Things That Nev’r Happened
Remember when green was a glyph
of places we made bad jokes about how us dying
in our sleep would be a perfect farewell to the world?
Blissful ignorance in our old days
we revelled in happiness without realising it.
A sombre hue blankets our sight,
imprinting scars of relinquished dreams, a jag,
of them whose breath was stolen in their sleep
taken by Covid’s cruel hand.
Everything we see is a mirage, not the truth.
In the backdrop of a reshaped land, we choked
on the metallic taste of despair,
quivery breaths and tears for breakfast, a heavy air –
we were bleeding hope in our green age
so intense we’ve become immune to happiness.
The weight of regret’s sombre bite, that fateful night
Think of the scars as a map of places
where our smiles were slain, a fleeting glimpse
of purest delight in the midst of this transient space,
a memory forever etched in the tapestry of a night.
I’d like to opt out of life, if I could,
for somewhere, a long time ago, I messed up.
Now I’m living the wrong life
reality blurs, and nightmares amplify;
like a bad version of the life I’m supposed to have.
…..
Poem (c) Jeffrey Ogochukwu
Image: alexandra_Koch pixabay remixed