Sometimes Sidewalks

Encouragement
For that random club you joined, with only a few members
Where you're always hoping everyone shows up
And just gets so much from being there
Encouragement
For that one guy at work
Not because you need the help,
But because he doesn't always make good decisions
And has kids at home and he really needs this to work
To do well and not just fall into old patterns
Encouragement
For that family member that usually does well, but seems different
You know how well things can be when everyone gets along
And know that a little encouragement is all it takes
It works if you give it a chance

A lone beer can lurks beneath a fluffy green bush, awaiting redemption
A young woman reclining in a rocking chair on the porch, lights a blazing candle to ward off the bugs
A shirtless young man wipes sweat from his brow and glances around before returning back under his jacked up car
An aging ambulance rumbles past with scrubbed off emblems from a city 10 hours to the south

Like red, yellow, and orange leaves falling from a great oak
You're not there
I still own the good times
The warm feelings and happy memories
What was and what could have been
What didn't happen
Not now, not ever
I'll be wearing an extra layer
Outside
In this cold, cold world

As the sidewalk ends a sole jogger dances back and forth with the white line, sometimes falling into the road
A stuttering line of cars veer over the lines in both directions to avoid the jogger
One sports car screams past with laughing and jeering out the open window
Along the sides, houses with neatly trimmed grass sport brown spots from the heat and lack of rain

Distance
the great separator
Between two once inseparable forces
Long forgotten memories
Cartoons and baseball
Time that has passed and won't change
Time that's correct and forever wrong
Time for something new, yet again
Time to forget
Now blended in like burnt grass of the lawn
Now so special and perfect in every way
Now coffee and cake, alone
Now different