Teresa
I looked into your eyes and saw myself
Before I knew who that was
You loved me before I knew enough
To not love myself
And you love me still now that I know even more
And am learning who I am again
How do I keep forgetting you?
You can always be my closest friend
If we remember to find each other
Why do the waters of life drift us apart
And then throw us back together?
When I gave you a piece of my heart
Did I say you could keep it forever?
Not that I mind
We are more of each other than we let ourselves admit
Frightened by the closeness it demands
I hide behind my life, blind and forgetful
Of you and all that you are
Constantly surprised at how much better you are
How much better I am
Then when last we conversed
Over a hypothetical coffee that neither of us likes
We live the same different life in different bodies
With different players and different scenery
And we reconvene every two summers
To compare notes on each other's progress
Towards a happiness that we remember from our own pasts
But can only see for ourselves in each other's future
We shelter each other
From our lives, from who we are, and from who us is
Unsure where we fit, but sure that we do somehow
Let us take a vow to remember sooner next time
That we are the eye of each other's storm
When next we meet for coffee
In the fading embers of another summer
September 13, 1998