Forgotten

On By inaloveworldIn Poems, world

by Mike U.

Those who fade away
Dust-covered and forgotten
Hushed in melancholy thought

Those of us denied
Peering through the river reeds
Watching joy drift out of reach

Who will remember
Those abandoned on the path
Those who fall by the wayside

We the silent ones
Mournful ones invisible
Just a burden nothing more

Will our lives echo
Down the road you travel on
Will our mem’ries be erased

As easily as
Closing your eyes and your hearts
As you pass us on your way

To something better
One day you’ll be one of us
Old infirm alone and weak

One day you will weep
Reach out bony fingers as
Youth and beauty pass you by

As you fade away
Dust-covered and forgotten
Hushed in melancholy thought

(c) 2021 by Michael L. Utley

https://silentpariah.com

Photo by Zoe Eng on Unsplash

22 thoughts on “Forgotten”

  2. Pingback: “Forgotten” published at Manuela Timofte’s blog In a Love World – Silent Pariah

  5. I think it’s normal that, as long as you’re young, you don’t think that one day you’ll be old too. Otherwise, youth would lose its charm.

    “Forever young, I want to be forever young”, these words are very close to my heart…

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Exactly. I’m 62, but I feel in my mind like I’m 20. It’s so strange when I look in the mirror and the person I see staring back at me isn’t the person I see in my mind. I have a feeling it’s probably like this for most people as they age. We’re most fortunate if we have people who love and care for us in our later years to give our lives meaning. So many of us don’t, and it’s a tragedy.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. We have nearly the same age and, it seems, the same thoughts. But, looking for the “Finish” line is not best way to live the rest of our lifes. It’s better to enjoy every moment with the love ones.

        Liked by 1 person

  10. Mike, this is so staggeringly expressive. So much to reflect upon in this emotive piece in which I can already relate to myself. I find it to be a perpetually moving phase of my life as well. I ponder these thoughts as well.

    Most vividly, as I get older, I think about rubbing the wrinkles and moving veins on my grandmother’s boney hands when she lovingly kneaded dough for biscuits. Now I see my hands looking older and I think of how much I loved her and her timeless hands.

    Your writing always takes me to places I have been and the joy I feel when that happens. However, there is nothing forgettable about you or your writing, Mike.

    It is so sad to me that at least in the USA we don’t respect the elderly, as we should. Those who as you so honestly put it:

    “One day you will weepReach out bony fingers asYouth and beauty pass you by

    As you fade awayDust-covered and forgottenHushed in melancholy thought”

    Thank you so much for this publication, Manuela. I so appreciate your mutual appreciation for the uniqueness and beauty of Mike’s work, and the publication of his works.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. A melancholy poem, Mike. And written before the forgotten were also so deeply vilified. “One day you’ll be one of us” is the line that stuck out for me. It’s true for the vast majority of us, and one more reason for compassion (for those who need reasons). Beautifully written, my friend.

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