On a 40th reunion

here we gather

 

it has been a long journey

for all of us

 

we have wandered through

this thing called life

and we wear the journey

 

 

no life journey is ultimately easy

along the way

life happens

 

all our gifts and abilities

all our planning cannot protect us from everything

from failure

loss

from wanderings into the wasteland

friends and spouses die

marriages fail

sickness comes

we make mistakes

 

but here we are

not the same

and yet the same

faces that seem not to have changed at all

faces that seem to be merely

a vague memory 

of that young student 40 years past

we are wider, mostly

shorter (yes we do shrink with age)

 

some of us are pretty much what we had planned to be

when we walked away from this special place

so long ago

some of us have wandered far

from those original dreams

 

but here we are

and the bonds forged during those brief years

so many years ago

and the lessons learned

and the wounds endured

in the 40 years since

draw us together into a place

that cannot be described

but only experienced

 

as we greet each other

exchange hugs, and stories

exchange ourselves

and find solace

in each other 

 

reunion