The Holidays are upon us...

and we are filled with emotion
we unconsciously refelect upon the past and impose yesterday on today
we see faces of parents and relatives, the way they were
we see the circumstances of their lives today and we cry for the loss of yesterday
Change
the mind adapts to change yet it does not let go of the past
the mind stores the past and plays it for us at unsuspecting moments
suprising us into emotion
the body overcome, breaks down and weeps
the mind is in control without our permission or knowledge
yesterday
the memory of yesterday
gone forever except in the storage files of our mind
the old people before us, we see as young and cry for the old
the helpless who - helped us
the lonely - who never left us alone
our lives enmeshed with theirs
yet we must stand alone
we can not care for our parents
we can not tend to their needs
we can only watch them grow old
we hold their hand and stroke their cheek
we watch as they grow old
and we remember the holidays past
as we sit in today
preparing for tomorrow