Do You Remember

Stopping for a While on the Road

Do you remember—
I prayed passionately,
"For Mum and Dad,
that they might be happy together."
With eyes pink and swollen from tears,
we opened the door of the little country school chapel
and stepped out into the night,
where countless stars were scattered across the sky, shining.

We all held hands and sang together.
We gathered our pointless worries in handfuls
and threw them into the campfire.
The deep vermilion flames,
so vivid they felt as if they might draw us in—
I wanted to sit there all night,
simply watching.

Tears flowed without end
on that summer night,
at the youth retreat in the church.
Do you remember that summer night
when the green was at its deepest?

When shop doors were closed,
and one by one the yellow lights faded out,
we walked and walked along the road,
paying no mind to the cold.
The modest love we shared,
those endless, trivial conversations—
moments when being together
was all we needed.

Do you remember—
The day I longed to shout and ask, just once,
why my path kept drifting off course,
why my youth bent and broke
when nothing went the way I hoped.

With the sky above heavy with swirling snow,
rising to fly seemed almost impossible,yet I longed to go
to somewhere far away.

Do you remember that day?
The road I took, chasing a dream.
The day I placed my luggage on the plane and cut through white clouds.

We said our brief goodbyes,
letters folded away, never sent.
Strange and frightening,
yet determined to stand on my own,
I wrestled through countless days.

Now, memories surface.
Layer upon layer,

time has carried me to today.
Though the road ahead is narrow and tight,I will take off my shoes,
and follow it,step by step.

And in the end,
I will arrive.
I will.

*these are my own paintings *