Student Publishing Program ::

Anna Flowers

Irrevocable

You say you remember the day we met.
I don’t know, I can’t recall it.
But I also cannot recall
how life must have been before I knew you.
You were my best friend.
I loved you as best I knew how.
I don’t know how well I did,
but I tried. I hope you know that.

As I remember that time,
we grew close immediately.
Our eyes met for the first time,
and suddenly we were never apart.
Those were the golden years,
the happiest of my life.
We could count on one another,
as much as children ever can.
We laughed together, cried together;
but mostly we laughed.
We used to dress each other up,
do you remember?
We would adorn each other with scarves and glitter.
So many colors came together,
always garish and mismatched.
People used to laugh, but we didn’t care.
It was fun, and we were glamorous.
That was all that mattered.

For years, we were constantly together, you and I.
People wondered if they saw one without the other.
“Joined at the hip,” they said.
Joined at the heart, I thought.
But somehow, somewhere along the way,
we lost that connection.
We came back together, but it was never the same again.
You and I had both changed.
We were sometimes close, but never like before.
Often, we just couldn’t understand one another.
We lived on different planes
which were steadily drifting apart.

We’ve spoken a bit, over the years;
once or twice, maybe, had a decent conversation.
But you don’t know who I am anymore;
and, indeed, I don’t know you either.
I saw you this morning.
I looked at you and smiled, just like I used to do,
but I don’t think you even noticed me.
Sad to think, how close the relationship can be between two friends,
and how irrevocably distant they can become.

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