Holding to Forget

BY CAROLE NICHOLS

They danced so slow, they hardly moved;
To a sad song the band played.
Each lost in different memories,
Of love lost, and the price they payed.

Remembering the feel of cherished arms,
Treasured hearts they once knew;
Priceless smiles that lit their world,
Before their lives were torn into.

Tonight, they've hidden lingering sorrow
Under glittering lights and revelry;
Laughing, teasing, tasting the wine,
In hopes the other would not see.

The laughter is empty, like their souls,
For gone is the love that made everything right;
They hold on now in hopes they'll forget,
Praying they won't feel lonely tonight.

Both once held someone else
In the magic of love's embrace;
But now they cling to a distant dream,
And to each other in this dismal place.

When they look into the other's eyes,
They see reflections of souls so lost;
No glimpse of the light that once shown bright,
Just the glimmer of tears to show love's cost.

So they swallow a sigh at the music's end,
Swallow their pride and swallow their drink;
As they seach for a way to forget it all;
In another holding that won't let them think.