With eyes wide shut I am drawn to the voices in the distance. The gentle hand of laughter caresses my skin then pulls me to stand. I look around and as I feel my breathe pause, the sights and sounds whirl around me. My hands open at my stomach and allow the butterflies of love to escape. Each one from a different time and connected to a different soul. They flutter about and get tangled in my hair. I laugh as I hear each whisper their stories in my ear while my eyes look past the rush of colors that surround me.

On the other side of the tornadic winds of memory, things seem still. My heart gets swept up in the calming storm as my eyes rest on the images of my lives. It’s not my past nor future because they all reside inside-out of me.

I see happy moments and heartbreak as well. Open ended questions keep moving from moment to moment slowly finding their home. Upon my tongue I taste the sweetness of the honeysuckle just as I can swallow bitter ale. Smoke permeates my nose and as I turn to shake it away, quickly salty air washes over and soothes me. Chilly air drops upon my skin as warmth pushes out.

I begin to walk as a light opens above me and allows me to see others caught up in this strange place of time. The butterflies that once nuzzled close to me now float away. I seem to be the only one able to see beyond my space. Between each person seems to be a thread that connects us all.

souls bound together
always changing yet so still
living in the now

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Written for Carpe Diem #384