Fading Friendships

I started this poem with the intention of following today's NaPoWriMo prompt ("first recall someone you used to know closely but are no longer in touch with, then a job you used to have but no longer do, and then a piece of art that you saw once and that has stuck with you over time. Finally, close the poem with an unanswerable question."), but I felt my poem was done before I even reached the "piece of art" part. So I only half-followed the prompt. I hope you enjoy my poem. 

Fading Friendships

By Candace Shultz

Her name is but a fleeting memory in my mind,

Though once she meant so much to me:

Childhood friends who did everything together,

Forming a bond we thought would never be broken.

But life has a way of moving forward,

Sometimes leaving the ones you love behind.

Moving from home to home you make many memories

With many different people. Some you love dearly.

Some you only give a passing thought.

I barely remember all the people I've met growing up

Except the few who left deep impressions in my heart,

And even those few have flitted away to years gone by.

I am walking on a carousel of my past

Collecting memories from my friends

Like collecting tickets from the park guests

But I still have to jump off that ride while it's moving

And as I pass them by, they blur and fade away

Leaving behind only their names and memories.

Sometimes I wonder what life would be like

Standing still in one place, one town, one home.

Never moving, never leaving, never losing the memories

Or the people who care about you in the moments of their lives.

But that is just a fleeting thought, as short-lived

As my fading memories of all the people I've left behind.