Hour Twelve: The Gathering

“Only one rule: Don’t wear black.”
After an absence of eight years
(despite all of the promises, the excuses,
the maybe-about-next -years?)
we will gather
this time not to reunion
(a desperate attempt to relive
those younger carefree hopeful days)
but to celebrate a life
now over.
We’ve all gotten older
inched closer to the finish line
and any attempt to ignore that
is lost as we consider our losses.

And so we will fly, train, drive
and gather.
We’ll talk of that wedding
so many years ago –
champagne-fueled hilarity,
dark sunglasses and pastel balloons and streamers.
So much laughter.
So much joy.
So much love.
So much future yet to be lived.

And after we’ve gathered,
and celebrated life,
and grieved,
we’ll part
And return to our lives
once again pretending there’s
still so much time.

Write about gathering with others. The specifics are up to you.