Memories of Elaine

I remember when we were children.
We laughed as we walked to school.
We shared our sly secrets, read all
The great books, fell in love
With sweet wonderful boys.
We walked the same paths, we studied,
We laughed. We were happy
And glowing in love.

We went to college alone and apart,
And yet we were ever together.
We wrote, one to the other,
And talked for hours on the phone.
We dreamed the future,
Remembered the past.
We cried, we argued, we laughed.
We faced the world, holding hands
And touching hearts. We shared
Our lives and we shared the years,
Happy and growing in love.

I pause and still hear your laughter
In spite of the unbearable fact
That your laughter and your gentle voice
Have been stilled for a decade and more.
Yet, as time passed, I learned that
You live in me and I live for you
And it becomes as if we were one,
One person, one body, one life.

Sleep, my silent friend, and wait for me.
Please wait for me and, you'll see, one day,
I'll walk the path behind you and we'll
Talk again, touching hands, touching hearts.
We have never really been apart.