Perhaps it’s the empty nest, perhaps it’s the new beginnings, but whatever the cause, the effect is a surge of memories…which are best presented poetically…or so I think. Perhaps these sentiments will wash over you in much the same way that they wash over me: gently, rhythmically, hypnotically…and with a splash of salt! Won’t you join me for a walk along memory’s shore? Surely God walks these shores too, as David records in Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.”
Shells of Time
Though time has passed, the thoughts don’t cease,
When memories flood, the gates release;
And yesterday now lies before,
Lapping my feet as I walk its shore.
Memories once buried rise anew,
They toss and turn with emerald hue;
Catching the light as they wash ashore,
With each new wave, there’re more and more.
I pick one up, wipe off the sand,
I lay it bare upon my hand;
It’s but a shell of days gone by,
A souvenir no coin can buy.
So one by one, I gather each,
But soon return them to the beach;
I place them back upon the shore,
Knowing in time there will be more.
For memories, though mine to keep,
Prefer to dwell within the deep;
Where waters rise, they find their home,
Contented there, they will not roam.
Yet I am free to beckon them,
And that which holds them can’t condemn,
My heart’s desire to walk again,
Upon the shore where I’ve just been.
So I’ll return when ere I might,
And gather shells that bring delight;
I’ll hold them closely to my ear,