Endings

March is madness for high school 
seniors 

A clearly demarcated end approached 
with anxiety, hope, or abandon 

But, for the rest of us 
endings are obscured in fog 
unseen until they happen 
unappreciated in hindsight 

They are the teammate "last online 350 days ago"
the career path that's no longer an option 
the parent who can't answer the phone when you call 
the student who left school suddenly 
the neighbors who moved south 
the "number no longer in service"

time we can never recover 
time we failed to appreciate 
endings that can color the future