A noisy silence in my ears
A thousand songs of love and loss
Hope and despair
Joy and sorrow.

Ah, but life is for living
Not regretting.
The songs fill my heart
And I smile.

Who has not felt all those things?
They made me grow
Taught me who I am
Breathed contentment into my soul.

I don’t cry,
I remember.
None of it hurts,
It just was.

The good parts
Bring a twinkle to my eyes
But they too,
Just were.

Moments in time,
A continuous story
My story.
And sometimes, yours too.

By Deborah E. Dayen

Painting by Fred Michaels, Saatchi Art, Google Images