When I look at something,
Like a long,
hardy branch of an oak,
Extending it's arms toward heaven,
It will remind me of the arms that
Once extended for my loving embrace.
But fire burns the wood...isn't that right?
It turns it into ash, a powdery form
Like dust on a bookshelf.
One day it, too, blows away,
Revealing what's underneath it.
It was once you.

The sky, that had never seemed
To reach the pallor of an ebony night,
Seems to resemble you.
The stars that are stamped onto it
Seem to be your eyes.
The brilliant twinkle, the shining smile
That brought my soul to life.
I know it's still in you, somewhere.

Well, if you forget me,
I may decide to forget you.
But would you want that?
Let's go back in time.

When I would climb up
The bars on a play fort,
Feeling the paint chipped wood
And rusted chains,
You would climb higher than everyone
Else, and gloat. Rub it into my face,
My heart, making it yearn for your
Approval. So I would, too, climb higher
And seek out the clouds.
The very top of the fort, glimmering
In the sun.
I had to excel higher than you,
But I rarely ever would succeed.

Never ending.
The wind blows and makes
The autumn leaves dance, forever,
In a celestial waltz that goes to the
Tune of wind chimes.
The cold nips your nose, your hands,
And chaps your lips.
I would shiver, and you would
Wrap your jacket around my shoulders,
Keeping me safe and warm.
I would inhale your scent.
Cologne, dirt, sand, grass.
I sometimes smile, remembering.
But your smell has reached to the scent
Of loneliness and regret.
But I'm not entangled in it.

You used to care about little things,
Each digit of a sum or
The brightness to the day.
But you've gone away, leaving
Your footprints behind.

But every morning,
Every second, every minute
That I think of you,
Your face and voice lingers
In the back of my consciousness,
Sometimes making me shiver.
Your heart is barely warm,
An ember in a pile of ashes,
Left behind in the fireplace.
But a little warmth is still enough
To bring you back to me.
And we will be friends again.

I shut my eyes, and see your face.
One day it will be warm.
Like rays of sunshine, the spectrum
Jumping off of your smile.
No longer cold.
Entwined hands,
Lingering soul.