June Write Challenge By John Graves Morris III

Remembrance in Midsummer

As the bonfires rage, I stare into the flames
and remember. I remember my friends, their names

forever etched in my mind. It seems so long
ago that I left what was once my home. Is it wrong

to have chosen this unlife? Better this than the curse
that others I grew up with chose. It’s certainly no worse

than the other option. In fact, I’d say it’s better
to “live” this life with a rocky, albeit checkered,

past than to suffer endlessly. Their memories
will always be with me, even as the centuries

come and go. The flame, the coals, the embers.
I’ll never forget, and they’ll always remember.

-John Graves Morris III