I Can’t Stop Now

I can’t stop now despite

All we’ve been through

Over the trying years.

Despite all the time apart

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Now we’ve become the best of friends,

Sharing old age together before

We go into that Good Night;

Our parents either gone or feeble.

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I can’t stop now that I have

A few years left to catch up

After twenty-one years of isolation.

I can’t stop now despite high anxiety.

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This poem is about an old girlfriend

I’ve been seeing recently, just as old friends;

Who I’ve always loved and missed, and is

About her struggles with 25 years of sobriety.

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She has kept her beauty and sharp mind

Over the years and her fitness is superb;

But lately she has fallen on hard times

And I have been there to see her through.

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She guards her privacy and anonymity

Fiercely and I respect that with great care.

I can’t stop now that I have her back

In my life, as she adapts to my limitations.

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I can’t stop now that I have someone who

Needs me and encourages my comeback.

No, I can’t stop now that I’m ready to join

The normal human race again. I can’t stop now!

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