For My Friends

SANDS OF MY HEART
Rod Walford

The autumn turns to winter and the leaves blow through the door
The seagull turns her icy glance along an empty shore.
The beach is all deserted now, the ocean cold and bleak
Its blues and hues have turned to grey, all muted, quiet and weak.

Now more than thirty years have passed since last I saw your face
I wonder if you’re near, or if, in some far distant place
You ever sit and reminisce, in quiet thoughtful pose;
And ponder all your memories as you trace the path you chose.

Do you gaze downward from the bridge, where time’s fast waters flow,
Along the pathways of your life... how fast your children grow!
And do you spare a passing thought for absent friends you knew
In far-off days... in summer haze... when cares were far and few?

When spring turns into summertime, blue skies return once more
And laughing children build their castles on the sandy shore.
Tho’ sunkissed lovers surf the waves, with lovelight in their eyes;
The test of time will surely find regret in long-lost ties.

For friendship’s hand is precious, and its hold will life enhance
I wish I’d held yours tighter, when you first gave me the chance;
And yet somehow, I look back now, and though we’re far apart
You’re still there... right beside me... on the warm sands of my heart.