From Time to Time

My school reunion invite lands,

Through Facebook's algorithmic hands,

Those faces that I used to know

Now blur like dreams from long ago—

From time to time.

The mix tape from my first romance,

Still holds that awkward slow-dance stance,

Though cassette players ceased to spin,

I hear those songs somewhere within,

From time to time.

My childhood teddy, battle-scarred,

Sits guarding memories in the yard,

Of monsters chased and tears dried clean,

Of who I was and might have been,

From time to time.

The fortune cookie's promise stays,

Stuck on my fridge through countless days,

"Your ship will come"—though years have passed,

I check the harbour sailing mast,

From time to time.

My grandma's recipe survives,

Though measurements were "handful-sized,"

I try to match her magic touch,

But cooking's never quite as much,

From time to time.

The mirror shows my father's face,

Where mine once was in youthful grace,

His gestures echo through my hands,

As nature's blueprint understands,

From time to time.

Old diaries filled with certain truth,

Make me smile at passionate youth,

Those problems that would end the world,

Now seem like tiny flags unfurled,

From time to time.

Life ripples like a stone in pond,

Past circles reaching far beyond,

While present moments slip away,

Yet old ones surface through the day,

From time to time.