The Sun was retreating to its home
Behind the ocean as you and I
Met once again, after a year long week,
And a song I hadn't heard in years
Rang out somewhere in the nothing
Over my shoulder.

It returned in time to shine down
Upon the moment we had awaited
For the blink of an eye that
Had been our pasts, separate and distinct.

It was in the right place to put you
In shadow when my camera recorded
Only a tiny fraction of the you I know.

It was high enough to shine through
The windows onto my pale hands,
And through the canopy of leaves
Under which I stood for so long,
Awaiting the elusive and contemplating
The purely fantastical that somehow
My hands saw and my eyes caressed.

It was hot enough to make me want
To take off all my clothes and jump
Into the carpet of diamonds over which
I gazed in wonder at distant glaciers
That refused to melt.

It was soft enough to perfectly illuminate
One of the last of the line of old friends
That kept the city moving for so long,
And that in a few short weeks
Became to me a friend I will never forget;
My camera recorded those last moments
Together as well.

It was bright enough to light my way
Home through the following night,
And keep me awake while I left
You behind in your world that I
Inhabited so briefly.

It was inspiring enough to make me write
About the way it made me think of you,
And the way my love for you will never
Set, as if illuminating the Arctic Circle.

But when I was home again, some of
Its light was missing, as if a shadow
Had suddenly appeared upon it, just like
In the rediscovered song I will always
Associate with you.

Perhaps it will again be bright enough
To make the world seem alive
When it shines over our oneness once more.

08/09/2002

Posted on 08/09/2002
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince