Even the Dead Have Their Tasks

We pack up our gear

And we're gone again

Driven by passion

outward

Away from family and friends

But what they can't see

Is that every day I'm drowning in a sea

Of faces that I miss so desperately

With each flashing countenance

A torrent of emotion

joy

and memories

The people I've grown to love so deeply

Throughout the years

I've chosen a big family

And the weight of their absence

Has brought me more than once to tears

I wake from sleep violently

Only to witness those lives and faces

Disappear slowly behind me

(I'm drowning)

Again I'm pulled back into deep waters

Washed further away from my sisters and brothers

Am I truly living a dream

When the only time I spend with you is in my sleep?

How am I to stay the course

to remain bold

When all those my heart longs for

Remain firmly anchored at home

Am I truly living a dream

When the only time I spend with you is in my sleep?

With every "it's-been-awhile" embrace

I wish it could last an eternity

Silently praying for the courage to say

"Oh G-d

how I've missed you!

I've seen you in my sleep!

We were laughing

crying

joking

You know

the way it used to be

Back when we younger and all that much more free

I just hope you see that nothing's changed between you and me

No matter the time we've spent apart

I know it's not always easy to show it

But please believe that I carried you in my heart

That you were with me through every mile

I could have sworn I saw your phantom standing in the aisle!"

It seems you already know what I'm thinking

And that

even after all this time

Some things still do go without saying

We savored the taste of our sweet youth

And now

with calloused hands

gather the remaining fruit

To go any farther

we must endure further pains

Skinned

mashed

and finally strained

Fermenting in the time spent away

Only to return with a fine vintage

To cheers to the health of those who stayed