Terminal

I still recall the day
As if perhaps time had frozen
The arctic tundra in my mind
A negative
A photograph
We had laughed oh how we had laughed
As if the world was not unkind
And you had held my hand
For old times’ sake
I was thankful for your kindness
It filled a hollow unmarked place
And the joy so acute after weeks of grief
Brought respite to my broken heart
How had we let the years pass us by?
Why had it taken so long to call?
You were much the same
And so was I
We had marked out a space for ourselves
Fallen into routine
We were suitably encumbered by houses and pets
We seldom thought of the past
We lived beyond regret
As the firework petals painted the sky in neon anthems to the moon
We let ourselves imagine time a slow and fluid kindly thing
And knitted in that hour glass
The dream of our collective dream
I wish I could have frozen time
That sad, sweet moment when you were mine
And transient joy gone all too fast
Was bound to our fickle hearts
And that the world required nothing more
Than laughter
To stitch the years
We parted on the Circle line
Returning to another time
Where I’m not yours and you’re not mine
But still the stars throb and throb
And brighter still the winter moon
Beckons to the falling stars
Please stay
But they are young and free
And falling fast and far away.