My mind begins to wander

how much my friends have changed.

Will they be thick or thin? Tall or short?

Will the have dyed their hair?

I won’t know

till I walk through these old, red doors.

I see bright faces. Full of joy.

All of the noise around us

drowns out

and I can see the glitter in their eyes.

My heart beats faster,

and faster,

and faster.

I’ve zoned out looking into the faces of old,

forgotten, memories.

I can see the new stories in their eyes.

They want to tell me. But I can’t listen.

I don’t want to listen.

They have moved on, to better things.

I was gone, and they forgot about me.

I went left

as they went right.

I can feel the sorrow clawing its way out of me.

The glitter in their eyes falls away.

Warm, soft arms embrace me.

I can feel the heat from their bones

radiate through my flesh.

What happened to me?

How did I lose myself

and not even realize

I was gone?

How could these people bring these feeling out of me

without a sound coming from their lips?

I’ve lost the war.

The world has won.

It took me years ago

when I turned left and these people went right.