“It might have been a new way for her heart to beat.”
Philip Pullman

You were with her,
And I was with him
When we met.
We were friends
For years,
Our families shared picnics,
Holiday parties,
And
A fenced back yard.
With him
You shared a love of
Old cars,
With me she shared
A love of
Art, and
Our children were
Nearly inseparable,
We were the best
Of neighbors.
But then I lost him
And you lost her,
And our friendship became
Our comfort,
For the four of us
Shared years of memories.
You loved her
And I loved him,
Neither of us saw the other
As more than
Neighbors and
Friends.
Until the day came
When I looked at you
In a certain way
And you looked back
The same way,
And our friendship
Caught fire.
Now more years
Have passed.
We haven't forgotten them,
We still smile
When we remember
All the things
That made us
Love them;
But now there's Us,
Proving there's room
For love to blossom again
After the original garden
Goes fallow.

c. 2025