Poems, Prayers & Promises

I Used to Believe in Forever

5-14-2016

I used to believe in forever,

When childhood fantasies were cheap

And unconquerable,

And words like forever friends held meaning.

I used to believe in forever,

As one after another came and went,

Like so many snowflakes melted by springs thaw,

But as long as I had that one,

Forever was real.

I used to believe in forever,

Even as my heart broke at first loves failure,

Because one was there to tell me,

"I'll stand by you forever".

I used to believe in forever,

Spending years of my life

Like so much worthless paper,

Destroyed by moths and time.

I used to believe in forever,

Thinking that diverging lives wound never shake

A foundation laid on simple faith

In childhood vows and fairy dust.

I used to believe in forever,

Until thirteen years got thrown in my face,

By a stranger who had once said

We'd be sharing a bench at sixty,

Looking back at forever.

I don't know if I can believe in forever again;

It rings hollow and empty and my trust is gone.

My folly was in holding too tightly,

In trusting too blindly,

And thinking that childhood

Could survive in a grown up world.

Maybe someday I can allow myself to believe again;

But for now I'll hold loosely,

One day at a time,

Knowing that it only takes a moment

For forever to become never more.