Departure

Self-isolating bubbles 

of love pop open

onto the sidewalk

spilling Youth,

sloshing about

wastefully as

Age looks on with

bemused restraint,

whittled to precision 

by Time passing

an idle hour.

Corpulent suitcases tumble out 

barely keeping up 

with rushed words 

of love and promises as

smiles ricochet behind masks 

before finding exit wounds 

in eyes lit up in excitement.

 

Comfy jumpers huddle close 

As dusk gathers in wrinkles

Of time and skin, bearing 

Sepia-toned memories

Just as they once held 

against shoulders, those

heads now vanishing into

the distance.

If only you could

unburst a bubble -

a wistful thought 

lingers as Time

blows playfully 

on a dandelion.