One
There are a lot of people in the
world that you’ll come to know
Mostly through the age of the
internet and cyberspace
But nothing beats the beauty of
meeting for the first time
In a classroom, on the street, or
in middle of the cafeteria line
You might not think anything of
them at first
Or you’re so taken that you don’t
know what to say
Either or, there’s something
that’s intriguing
Perhaps even captivating
You keep them in your mind
Not knowing that they've already
left a footprint on your heart
Time passes as you go from
strangers to friends
Little moments jumping out like
bold colors on a blackboard
You only talk in passing, or
perhaps every couple of days
They might make you laugh or
blush with their bold sense of humor
Or they motivate you to clean up
your act
Their personalities are admirable
Simply because they never fail to
be themselves
But then there’s that one moment
Where you connect as human beings
Identifying on the same level
Recognizing that everyone has
struggles
And needs a little help every
once in a while
When he got you back safely after
a night downtown
And the others were scattered
about in different directions
Laughing hysterically after too
much whiskey, rum, and cold pizza
Serenading you to country music
the following morning
Never even bothering to think
That this would be the last time
you would see him alive
He listened without flinching
As you recounted your painful
history and battles with depression
None of it fazes him
As he dodges traffic between a
busy road to stop the bus
So that you don’t have to walk
back on that cold winter night
Reminding you to hug him a little
tighter
Even when you've had a little too
much liquor
As it happens, it might not be a
particularly huge deal
When a person demonstrates love,
kindness, and compassion
But life is finite and goes
quickly
And what gets taken for granted
Is what I tend to
remember the most
