Yesterday

Through a dusty window with a broken pane,

I peeked at the lane that seemed left behind -

Not really though, it did continue to eternity,

But nevertheless there were paths that lay uncrossed.

I contemplated reliving that abandoned haven;

What is it about the days gone by,

That they always seem so perfect in introspection?

Why is today the happiest from tomorrow's point of view?

The mind's the devil you must give your due to -

It concocts this web of rose tinted nostalgia.

I often fall prey to it, but that day, I didn't;

I opened the pane wide enough and looked at Yesterday.

There it was curled up in its smug satisfaction of having passed.

I stirred it a little, rattled it some more, and gave it a gentle shake -

And - memories fell out like the crisp leaves of a vibrant fall

Not all were warm rays of the sun, cold wintry days were wrapped in too.

"Why do you hide the chill", I asked Yesterday.

"You choose to remember the warmth", it shot back.

"How so very naive of me", I wondered out aloud.

"How else would you carry my burden", offered Yesterday.