It started as many of the best things do.
Just two kids, same year, living in the same town.
And I don’t even know the first time I saw you
I remember you dated a friend of mine, when we were way too young.
And I remember the class we took together
I did my best to help you
I think you were grateful
But I would have given it and more for nothing.
And you disappeared for a bit
Or my attention went elsewhere
Until I drove you home one day
After the leaves had changed
Crimson red and gold
And had started to wither and fall.
So I gave you my shirt,
In an attempt to protect you
In a world so cold but suddenly
It felt a little more warm.
And then flash forward to your parents basement
Just friends for a second
Until you leaned in
Further and further
Your head on my chest
Your breathing in time with mine
And it was clear you felt the same.
In the beginning I know I was too unfocused
My attention elsewhere, divided.
The space open in my life a little smaller than you deserved.
But it felt like you gave it all to me
And in time I gave it all to you.
My life intertwined with yours
Your friends my friends
Until you were a piece of me.
But then it ended
Fitting with how it began
We weren’t in the same place anymore
Lives growing, expanding
Reaching for new horizons.
And now I know
It’s good in the end
You did us a favor
Not to hold us back
But it hurt
That I had finally jumped
Had a few moments of glorious free fall
And then, suddenly, the ground.
But that’s young love
And I’m happy it happened
Happy I had you
And I hope that your life
Is everything I dreamed it would be
And more.
Tag: Youth
You’re only 22
It is easy to fall into despair
When you look at your life and can’t tell what
You’ve done that matters. Why anyone should care
If you disappear. When it sinks, your gut,
Realizing that the things you want most
Are always floating just out of your reach.
When it feels your work is nothing to boast
About, that you have nothing you can teach
And it feels like you don’t know anything.
But that just means that you must press onward
And build, grow. You’re young. Your heart might yet sing
With happiness, more beautiful than birdsong.
Life’s a journey you’ve just begun. It’s true.
Never give up on yourself, you’re only twenty two.

