Come & Go

People are always coming andgoing. One day drifts into one month, and in a matter of years, a clearlymagnified memory fades to condensation on rippled glass. Haze always finds itsway in. More important friends stickthrough the storms and the summer burn; however, "friends" of circumstance,those for the moment when the reasons are right—they are gone once theirpurpose is served. Other acquaintances come and go, and we never know, forcertain, when they'll come waltzing back in. But with some people, it's hardto leave the door open. Some people, once the time has passed, you don't wantthem comin 'round knockin. "Go away,big bad wolf. Leave me be."A lot of people have a way ofshutting off. Leave the emotional baggage in the rearview, I suppose. Forgetand move on. Learn and grow. Go forward with eyes wide open. Let the past bepast. It's a funny saying, really. Somany people wish to let the past be the past. They want it to stay back there.Set up a roadblock and some flares, and keep those old dusty memories fromrollin up.But this doesn't always work.Our past is in our bones. Ourpast is the wrinkles on our face, the bruise on our leg, the enamel on ourteeth, the wear and tear on our organs and our psyches. Our past is ourpersonal history. And it's a running narrative.But sometimeswe just wanna forget. And there's nothing wrong with that. But it's hard asshit sometimes. It's tough to rub away an almost indelible stain. We can banishit to the infinite recesses of our memory banks—but it's always floating somewherein the void. And sometimes, when you let something float around, it's only amatter of time before it bumps back into you. A sort of asteroid belt of ugly,forgotten thoughts.And the strangest things can trigger what we deem, by allaccounts, to be totally unrelated. But certainly, the mystery of the cerebralcosmos is that all things are somehow linked. Somewhere down the causeway, offthis detour, and through this isolated woods, and by this gnarled stump, and upthis secluded knoll... the neural network will take us there.In our lives, people come andgo. People make the difference when we let them. But people can also drift asghosts, if we so choose to let them. And it's easy to be a ghost. It's harderto be real. It's harder to let people in because, then, of course... we'vegotta let ourselves out.But being a ghost always hasits pains. With everything, there are regrets. And when you choose to drift,there's always another level unexplored. The curtains are never fully parted. And when they are, sometimes it's ugly on the other side. Sometimes, the viewoutside the window is far from serene. Sometimes, colors are harsh, and soundsare loud, and the scent and touch leaves us jaded. At times, there's too muchlight. Which is why I wear sunglasses.