The Die We'Ve Cast

A friend you meet in middle age
Of course has his own history
Which possibly will stay imbued
With some degree of mystery.

We form our judgments from the facts
We have in our possession
And how a person looks and acts
Determines our impression.

But sometimes we may get a glimpse
Of someone’s early years
And discover that he once was not
The way he now appears.

For age and illness take their tolls
On all of us, and yet,
Within us still exists that self
New friends have never met.

A photo or a story somehow
Conjured from the past
Makes us realize that there’s so much more
Beneath the die we’ve cast.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2017

Poem

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Makama Avatar
July 12, 2017 at 10:00 AM
Excellent and profound. You have that unique skill of beating the peak. This is a wonderful stuff, always beating our expectation. Can wait to jump to your next page.
Rigoler Avatar
July 9, 2017 at 4:10 PM
I love this one, Ilene, it reads with truth and ease. Our lives, no matter how others see us, is like a closet filled with our varying personalities few ever get to see – thank God! Great poem. BYW, on vacation next week / M
Salehi Avatar
July 9, 2017 at 11:32 AM
Nice flow, beautiful rhyme, lots of emotion ..... Lovely
Turner Avatar
July 9, 2017 at 8:28 AM
It is funny you write about this, I recently joined fb and have reconnected with some of my friends from high school. The me they remember doesn't exist anymore. When I tell them I now write poetry, they are in disbelief. Not because i wasn't smart, I was voted most talented, but because of the choices I was making at the time they knew me. Great write as always, Mrs Ilene:)
Johnson Avatar
July 9, 2017 at 7:50 AM
It's nice that there's tomorrow where new life get's it's say. And parts of who we used to be get to share the day. Oh, and bty, you continue to write with such aplomb.
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