10 Years

Caps and gowns, smiles and frowns
We glance around at the sea of familiar faces
People from familiar places
They were my friends when I was five,
Friends when I learned to drive,
Friends when the cops would stop by
Homecoming games, king and queen names
Uncool kids out, popular kids reign
In a few months they'll be treated the same

Valedictorian speaches, boos and shouts
A couple hundred diplomas, the principal hands them out
Love them, or hate them your teachers were there
A handshake, a smile, perhaps an unfriendly stare
I spot my parents in the crowd. With such pride they beam
This is your life Michael, well until the age of eighteen

It's been a fun awkward journey, a crazy little ride
Time to move the tassle to the other side
There's one last summer left without a care,
The class of '99, throw your caps in the air!

College came and went, it was the time of my life
I made many true friends, but fell short of a wife
Sometimes it was heaven, sometimes it was hell
But we all prayed and lit candles when the Twin Towers fell
Growing pains and trials put my faith to the test
Through the thick clouds my light shined best
By my senior year, high school seemed so far away
Once again in a cap and gown, but instead of June, it is may.
The family is all there, the grandparents too.
Pose for a picture Michael, please just a few?

I rush around to find some friends
Can't believe four years of memories, and now it all ends
They were perhaps the most fun filled years of my youth
But I was far from adult, that's the God's honest truth
Caps once again tossed in the air, this is our last dance, dream if you dare
My whole life is ahead, so excited, yet so full of fear
The haunting Pomp and Circumstance echos in my ear

Flash again forward six more years
A bit fewer laughs, and many more tears
I'm a working man now, work is all I do
Cancer took grandma, three years later it took grandpa too
I work many jobs, live many places, a few little wrickles now on our faces
My buddies are getting married, now family is priority number one
Oh how I long for the college days of single dude fun
I got sick of 80 hour work weeks. Then I got the notion!
So I quit my job, and headed for the big island and ocean
My hair got longer, I spin fire and run
I let my life get boring, so I brought back the fun

Now it is August, two thousand and nine
My body has aged a little from the sands of time
Today I read an e-mail, as I sat in my chair
"Clover Hill 10 Year Reunion. Hope you'll be there!"
A high school reunion, how silly, how lame
All the dumb jocks are gonna act the same
But it's been ten long years, not two, not three
Was it long enough for them to change, like it was for me?

Ten years came and went, how time does fly
Will the next ten years pass, like a blink of an eye?