And yet again
I am that
Bear the boy
Outgrew the bike
The girl forgot
The letter unopened
And the ornaments
Stowed in attic
I’m the deserted
Baseball field the
Empty beach the
Quiet carnival and
The vacant bigtop
I am alone
Once being something
Now quite another
Your voice to
Me is like
The soft chirp
Of deep forest
Crickets your body
Is a tawny
Calm pool found
By mistake while
Wandering through thickets
Your eyes like
Far off galaxies
Upon which I
Wish and oh
Your smile like
The early morning
Sun which breaks
Free of linen
Next to me
I am but
One blossom in
A field of
Wildflowers one
Tree in a
Wood one snowflake
In a blizzard
And one raindrop
In a downpour
The difference is
That I’m the
Flower in your
Vase the shade
In which you
Sit the flake
Caught on tongue
And the drop
That landed softly
On your lips
There is but
One simple truth
My dear boy
We are either
Growing or we’re
Dying there’s no
Middle ground move
From bear to bike
To car to
Boy and be
Your best self
That’s what you
Have to do
And like the
Start of one
Thing and the
End of another
Like the warmth
Of summer meeting
The crisp fall
Or the blanket
Of leaves comforted
By snow we
Have met here
In the middle
Of everything else
HARLAN DIDRICKSON 