Early Mornings

"Early Mornings"

I sit in the quiet darkness 

     of morning 

reminiscing,

The birds begin to sing their songs, 

     chirping their lyrics from the power lines,

The dark blues start to give way 

     to the warm hues of sunrise,

So many moments 

swell behind my weary eyes 

as I drink my coffee in the morning,

     remembering faded glimpses of my youth,

Time has washed away 

everything of worth and has left

the wreckage of a life 

     held together by only memories,

So many regrets, 

     so many thoughts both happy and wretched,

It's too much in the morning some days,

     too much to look in the mirror at my face

     and see my hollowed out eyes

     surrounded by circles

of dark shades of grey skin tones,

Too much to feel every ache and pain 

     of memory 

     in my bones,

To feel every ragged and worn out pull of my joints,

Too much to hear every echo of thought from years gone,

So I grab the bottle of vodka and serve a glass over ice,

It's only half passed nine and already I can't handle life.

-Armando Torres