THIS, I SHALL NEVER FORGET by Mike Turner

THIS, I SHALL NEVER FORGET by Mike Turner

Faint murmurs in quiet rooms

Dust motes settling on unused furniture

Cast down, thus abandoned

Yet remaining

Cloaking scene with muffled scorn

This, I shall never forget

Intended slights and sorrows

Muddied waters flowing ‘cross untrod lanes

Eroding, and moving on

Yet leaving sediment

Damning with faint praise

This, too, I shall never forget

Songs unsung, plays un-staged

Unspoken scripted lines and sonnets

Delivered to absent audiences

Thus unheard

A lifetime’s passion, muted

This, too, I shall never forget

Gentle whispers

A balm upon disturbed reverie

Breathing life, and hope

A slender ray of sunlight between grey clouds

Renewing faith amidst despair

A zephyr, blowing old haunts clean

This, I shall always remember

Mike Turner retired to the Alabama Gulf Coast after more than 25 years as a Federal law enforcement executive. An adult ed ukulele class opened the world of music and songwriting to Mike; with more than 200 original songs to his credit, he was featured on the “15 Minutes of Fame” stage at the 2020 Monroeville Literary Festival. Mike has had more than 300 poems published in more than 65 literary journals and anthologies. His poetry book, Visions and Memories, is available on Amazon. His poem, “A Sense of Peace,” was awarded the Alabama Writers Cooperative’s 2023 Roger Williams Peace Award for Writing. When not writing and recording, Mike explores the backwaters of the Northern Gulf with his wife, Pamela Caudill, on their recreational trawler.