THE MAN WHO SOLD YESTERDAYS

THE MAN WHO SOLD YESTERDAYS

A man came knocking at my door,
With yesterday’s for sale,
He carried them inside a box,
All tied with ribbons pale.

“I have the day you first found love,
The day you learned to dance,
The day before your heart got broke,
Would you like one more chance?”

I asked him for a summer day,
When I was only ten,
When Mum was singing in the yard,
And Dad was home again.

He took a day out from his box,
And placed it in my hand,
The kitchen filled with laughter,
Just exactly as I’d planned.

I smelled the Sunday dinner,
I heard the old clock chime,
I wanted to stay forever,
Inside that stolen time.

But underneath the laughter,
Was every hidden tear,
For yesterday brings everything,
The happiness and fear.

“You cannot pick the sweetest bits,”
The strange old seller said,
“The roses and the thistles,
Grow together in your head.”

I gave him back my yesterday,
Although it broke my heart,
For memories are precious things,
But life must still restart.

The man walked slowly down the road,
His box beneath his arm,
Looking for another soul,
To purchase yesterday’s charm.

I closed the door and faced today,
The sky was cold and grey,
But then a robin started singing,
And chased the dark away.

I learned you cannot live again,
The years that had to go,
But yesterday can plant a seed,
And tomorrow makes it grow.