around the corner.

Around the corner I have a friend,
In this great city that has no end;
Yet days go by, and weeks rush on,
And before I know it a year is gone,
And I never see my old friend's face,
For life is a swift and terrible race.
He knows I like him just as well
As in the days when I rang his bell
And he rang mine. We were younger then,
And now we are busy, tired men:
Tired with playing a foolish game,
Tired with trying to make a name.
"Tomorrow," I say, "I will call on Jim,
Just to show I am thinking of him."
But tomorrow comes - and tomorrow goes,
And the distance between us grows and grows.
Around the corner! - yet miles away . .
"Here's the telegram, Sir. . .
'Jim died today'."
And that's what we get, and deserve in the end:
Around the corner, a vanished friend.

Without any intention to be emo, I find myself just reflecting on how in life you'll never know what's around the corner. As cliche as it may be, the only constant thing is change. Times change, places change, people change, and we all change. Eventually everyone has to move along, and learn to cope.

Inflation for example. Prices increasing despite a non-consensus. Tram ticket and food prices inching higher every once in awhile. And that's why your parents/grandparents never fail to see the need to exclaim to you how much cheaper things were during their time. Sort of like a moral outrage. I can understand somewhat. Am I that old?

And after a while, the years just roll by into one long indistinguishable past. The whens, whats and whys matter no more, like the dates printed on old photos. See, that's the other thing. Most people already associate the word photo with digital. Heck, I remember how happy I was when I received an instant camera, with the clickclick dial.

And people change. You move along in the same carriage, but sometimes passengers get off, and new ones come on. Sometimes they even leave unexpectedly. People whom you get familiar and close to eventually get off at their stations. Someone once asked me after a good friend left: how do you do it? And the only answer I could think of was: you just do. You swallow back the sad wellings of tears, put on a smile and say goodbye, never knowing if you'll really meet again. And even if you do, sometimes it's passing by on trains going in opposite directions.

I like to think someday I will be someone important enough or special enough that some might remember me. I like to think my life is worth something to someone, or that I will be able to make a difference. That perhaps, I can be more than a polaroid.


. Arigato .