A Memory of Youth
A laugh,
A look,
But not a face.
The love,
The respect,
But not the voice.
My memories remember the boy,
But I don't know the man.
Four years of remembering,
But never of seeing.
Until one summer,
Two weeks,
But only a few words.
The changes
Of adulthood,
But, underneath, the boy.
Desperation stopped the words
But memories moved my heart.
Familiar gestures of hand,
But different habits of body.
Eyes the same,
Heart never changed,
But a girlfriend on his arm.
My old thoughts,
Our old friendship
But his new life.
I saw the potential
Of his beautiful face.
I felt the kindness
Of his gentle heart.
Four years ago,
Two young kids,
And a special bond.
Friendship born,
New life begun,
Now memories are all that's left. . .
ã1998 Janelle K. Vargas