An Ode to Remembrance, An Ode to Foresight
written by: Carlene Sherbourne
I see her from a distance,
her smile is unmistakable.
There is a peaceful exuberance in her youthful ignorance.
I want to hold her there, safe,
but we both know I can’t.
Her world is unfolding one possibility at a time.
Delicate flowers open as she steps along the path of her future.
These are the moments, the days, the years where everything is possible.
I work to remove the thorny obstacles from her path.
Still, I think she knows the fragility of life,
not from experience, more from intuition.
Have you ever met someone so eager to drink in life that your thirst is quenched just by being in their presence?
She does this for me.
When I’m stranded in the desert of despair,
I close my eyes and visit her.
Her laughter, her worries, her silly little cares…
She fills my parched heart.
Who knew that memories could have such a visceral effect?
She visits me, too.
I feel her lifting my weak, aching body.
She tells me that this is how she becomes so strong.
I hear her whisper to me when it all feels like too much.
This is how she becomes so wise.
This younger me refocuses my eye,
clears out the sadness,
shows me the light.
I think her visits to me fuel her intuition.
We meet eye to eye.
With the warm embrace of one soul,
we decide it is important not to go too far ahead.
We commit to a lifetime of love.
We agree to travel together in the end,
closing the ribbon of life.
An ode to remembrance.
An ode to foresight.
- An Ode to Remembrance, An Ode to Foresight - February 17, 2026
