This life is our classroom, we are tested in many ways,
The hardest, are the final exams, when someone we love,
Journeys to their next life, always a cloudy day.
Many people, will say they are sorry, and offer anything,
That they can do, only time can help you get past, that hollow,
Numb feeling, inside of you.
The question why, will often enter your mind, do not ponder long,
You will never, discover the answer, during this life time.
You will never again, in this life see their physical being,
Often in your times of struggle, you will receive guidance, Knowledge, that their spirit, will bring.
When someone passes, it reminds you of reality, the joy and happiness, a soul inside does bring, always out ranking
Material things.
Memories, we create them every day your actions, will be Remembered, longer than all of the words you say.
Even the big dreamers, are living on borrowed time,
Each life has a finish line.
Try to create good memories, the only part of you, that will stay,
One day, we will all be a memory of, yesterday.

                                          The original: Tom Maxwell © 4/28/2025 AD

The petals last pulse under forgotten echoes of moonlit shadows,
remained in a lavender scented field, soulfully still

The breath of crushed velvet, paired with unnamed galaxies,
bespoke of amethyst daydreams

Woven into them were sighs of silky dust nights,
filled with scorched upheavals

Dancing orchids draped in full bloom,
stirred fiery rains, flowing within air of royal dusk moons

Wisteria hues,
too refined for eggplant plums & hominy hums

Iridescent irises & lilac leaves whispered between
blue lagoons cloaked in filtered rooms

Still, they stand between
midnight dreams & mystical realities

I keep trying to connect to my younger self-
I’ve been reading old journals,
listening to old Ed Sheeran albums-
wondering, “Did I really love this magenta color so much”?

Attempting to feel the way that she did.
Feeling her excitement-
her joy-
her passions.

I have been rediscovering that my past self and I have been through many things. Things that I don’t think about because they are too hard to think about, or simply things that I have forced myself to forget about- like putting my memories on paper and then burning them in a fire.

She was a really sad person.
She struggled.
She was anxious.
She was depressed.
She hated herself.
She had moments of unwavering positivity but there was so much self doubt.

She still is a really sad person.
She still struggles.
She is anxious.
She is depressed.
She hates herself, sadly so.
She still has moments of unwavering positivity but there is still so much self doubt.

I guess some parts of us never change, despite us wanting them too.