Travelling back, going forward
(at the village reunion)

Of course you can’t go back, the mind
plays tricks distorting, colouring at will,
and you imagine what it will be like -
to meet up again. But nothing prepares you 
for the actuality of that first encounter.

There will be some you haven’t seen
for fifty years along with some that you
will never see again. You accept that initial
shock of change before recognition and
the acknowledgment of ‘yes it is him, or her’.

Then it is the past living again, the past
that attaches irrevocably, continuously,
the past you can’t escape from. Someone
says ‘do you remember’ and you likewise
retort ‘do you remember!’ each triggering.

And they are here now, with you again. Their 
memories coalesced with your understanding.
The way it was. And smiles broaden in the 
wake of rekindled friendship when the
world was opening wide before you.

They say ‘you haven’t changed’. They are
oblivious to the you that is now. But perhaps
they are right, that there is something permanent
beneath the skin. A certain character which you 
unwittingly showed in those formative years.
 
But it was something quite unexpected that
totally caught you off balance. A forgotten
girlfriend recognised you instantly welcoming
you with an immediate hug. She still slim in body
and in that brief moment a perfect fit.

Then time to disperse, to pick up the threads
of ongoing life, to let that unsettling emotional
swing subside. You were part of them and
they will remain part of you. And the past 
continues irrevocably to define who you are.

Richard Scutter July 2019