clouds. stones. us.

 It is our last day before you go on holiday to Europe, 

And we spent it with friends, wandering along the beach.

We threw stones until my shoulder hurt, and 

Then I picked up pretty ones to offer you

(and our friends, because I can’t give the game away).

How like the sky you are, changeable and free. 

You are a wild thing 

I wish to bottle and preserve

In a poem.

I don’t think I can, 

But thank you for playing along, 

I think. 

The clouds are pale and scratched onto the blue sky, 

Like a chalkboard. Trailing, drifting, aimless. 

They remind me of you and me. In different ways 

Sometimes you are away with the clouds, 

And I love that, as a friend.

There was a nautilus shell, small

And pure white. It reminds me of our friendship

In the early days. 

Your venting, my listening, our talks.

You picked it up clumsily, like a child, and 

Said it was nice, 

“Thanks.”

There was a simple orange shell, flat

And smooth. It made me think of the middle,

When I felt more, and you felt less. 

The awkwardness, resolved-ish. 

I wished we could forget.

Go back to how it was.

But now,

You see me. I see you.

Sorta. 

There was an orange heart-shaped stone with black veins. 

And I pretended I didn’t get a twinge

When you picked it out of my palm.

It was like you were picking up

My heart to hold it. 

I’m stickin' to that belief, even though

I’m happy single.

I said farewell, and you smiled, waved. 

The sunlight plays across your face 

As you turn to your car, and I know 

I will never forget this moment

Like a picture framed in my eyes,

I won’t forget you.

Because if I did, 

I’d be lost for the next 6 months,

trying to find that special person 

(you).

Tomorrow you will fly away for a month,

And we spent our last day doing the most important

Meaningless things — it was a day of freedom, 

And for that I’m grateful. 

You have let me be better

Without any judgment, 

(or love) and that is all you can ask for 

from friends.

When you fly all the way back home, 

I will be happy, single.

Still gazing at the clouds, 

Hoping to capture a shot of the sky,

That I’ll never be able to forget.

And even if you have gone on

Without me 

I’ll still have that memory of the beach, 

And the stones. And us.

I’ll see you in a month.

Friend