Odrentron world

Alex Odren, July 2024

Where do the memories go
Where does the love go
What about the soul stamped intimate moments / can they come
What about the smiles, giggles and laughing until you cry
What happens to our memories etched in our heart and mind
When we leave are they left behind

Do you remember the bonfire on the beach after graduation
Drinking beer, laughing at our time together, telling stories of our youth and dreams for the future
The noon whistle sent us home for lunch, we played neighborhood games with our bunch.
Riding our bikes all around town, / nightfall telling us to go home with a frown.
Building floats for our class, driving back roads with our friends for a laugh, Friday night lights were next to none / you felt you would live forever thank god for the run
Fear and joy of that very first kiss, what if I close my eyes and miss

crying over your first break up was tragic / but young love was magic

Do you remember the feeling of saying I do
Or the unbound happiness of your baby’s first laugh
How can unconditional love of a child ever be lost
Blessed with a child / first steps, dress up, riding a bike, holding their hand, their smile made your heart melt
Seeing the family on Christmas morn, blowing out birthday cake candles always a flutter heart felt

Where do the memories go
Do they just fade away when we do
Do they float up into the sky like the embers of the bonfire at night
Eventually burning out and floating out of sight
what about the pictures in my mind of the bright full moon that pulls the tide
or the smell of crisp pine in the air / staring out at the snow capped mountains in awe of the great divide

Through peaks and valleys it really has been a good ride
Can’t they come with me when I leave this world behind
If i may be so bold please leave behind the failures and darkness / they have spent too much time in my mind
But In order to take even a bit of my joy / my loving moments tucked in my heart / than I will also take the pain
I need those memories of peace and beauty to follow/ can you help me forget the sorrow
Today tomorrow we don’t know when/ I want to create more of those loving amends
Sometimes u forget these priceless moments and the memory tends to fade
The next time you hear a baby’s unencumbered guttural laugh think about pure happiness of your own path
Music rekindles the feeling of fun, first road trip, singing Christmas songs at the top of your lungs
laughing with old friends at the pizza shop where it began/ the songs that reminds you of your mum, or the concerts with friends / a whole stadium of fans singing along/ transported without a care in the world to an island paradise.

Where do the memories go
If they do not follow the soul as we wish / did they ever really exist

Do they float up into the sky like the embers of the bonfire at night
Eventually burning out and floating out of sight
Or by some grace they stay alive in the ethers / for friends and family to light again
Can I bring them with me when my time comes to an end

— Alex Odren, July 2024