we were young
~ so very young
well ~ I guess
as it seems so now
when I first
as this shy ~
but strong-willed boy
later to be called stubborn
by many women
I’ve known
~ saw her
from behind
my self-perceived
ugly glasses
as this girl
behind her glasses
possessing a special
kind of fortitude
way ~ way
beyond her peers
~ and yet
as not
fully realized
back then
that she
and me
~ despite being
bodily not the same
she ~ as a female
me ~ as a male
had this kindred spirit
of mind and emotion
motivated by ~
similar desires
envisioned a future
well-known
to the restless sort
wanting much ~
much more
than growing up to live
an everyday life
akin to the culture
within some
small country town
~ ~
somehow
as though ~
predetermined
by the judgment
upon the strings
of the fates
while growing up
~ she and I
never got to know
each other ~ that well
and when our time came
as adults ~
to explore the world
our wandering nature
not unlike the adventurer
striking out
upon a greatly
anticipated expedition
we both departed
choosing ~ to walk
on different roads
~ ~
and then one day
as if planned out
by the gods
or at least Zeus
the “Father
of Gods and men”
unbeknownst to me
the mortal kind ~
she ~ now this woman
me ~ now this man
both the sojourners
within a reality
called life
have finally
stepped upon
the same road
even if ~
not always
in the same place
~ doing so
after having amassed
within our travels
extremely ~
complex lives
but this time
not again like
when we were young
regardless of the odds
~ and whatever
my present or past
experience
with the many types
of women
that have come ~
gone
or stayed in my life
I do promise
somehow ~ someway
at least
as far as me
with her
I’ll do my best
to keep it this kind
of relationship
as a man ~
being a friend
~ with a woman
I do pray
I do hope
Words by ~Keith Alan Hamilton~