UARTKNOWN

Was it a day, an hour, a lifetime?

Or was it a moment,

A gentle breeze that brushed across my face,

and was gone.

I didn’t know you, and then I loved you.

You appeared from water and sky,

grasping my hands with your eyes,

my heart with your smile,

and we were.

Together we moved through the town,

the countryside, at the fair.

We had no particular direction, and yet, we were not directionless.

For the road before us became our playground.

The landscapes we encountered were to us

a mode of inquiry for the questions

we desperately sought answers to.

A gilt meadow of daylilies declared your cheerfulness,

as your cloudy wisps of silliness measured my own.

Approaching mountains did not inhibit you even for a moment,

you just inquired of the flowing streams

for the path to lead us through.

A gentle summer shower did not dampen your spirit,

it just summoned you to a quieter place,

where your heart sought its refuge,

and to deliberate with its constituents.

We moved along.

You reached into my heart without reaching,

for it was already reaching for you.

There were no pretenses to be acted upon,

no bargains to be made.

For you were pure and open, and you were my friend,

you will always be my friend.

Light, open, airy.

A pleasant garden filled with laughter and sunshine.

You were the perfect person for the perfect time,

but...

you were not the perfect person,

for a lifetime.

I moved on,

but I... am... melancholy...

When I soaked in the light and warmth of your presence,

I came to understand it was but for a time.

So I enjoyed to the bounds of propriety,

through every movement, every laugh,

every breath that you inhaled,

and I inhaled you.

I danced every dance with you, drawing out the very last steps,

until the mournful cellist fingered his last note,

and drew his bow slowly across the last string.

Our dance had come to an end.

I kissed your hand, and we smiled.

I walked you to the edge of the dance floor,

and released your hand.

Your fingers slipped through mine

as they were meant to,

and with the gentle breeze that you came in on,

you were gone.

That was our day, our moment, our time.

It was always meant to be that way.

As often as innocence will allow, I will look back with fondness,

for you were the love of my life,

for that time.

I left you as pure as I found you,

untouched and unblemished.

For I was your perfect person for the perfect time,

but...

I was not your perfect person,

for a lifetime.

And now we have moved on, but we will remember,

long after our moment in time has gone.

U.Art.Known