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Katie

When I heard the news
that you had to move
far away and out of my reach,
I sat at the end
of my driveway until dawn.

My Mom couldn't get me
to come back inside.

The rain in June
has a different smell to it
and I took it in
a day before my brithday
years ago.

Since then, I've connected
you to the wet earth.
It had so much life, such
fullness that consumed my mind
with childishness.

I still hold onto it today,
just not as tightly.

Since then, I've remembered
lightning bugs as the things
we caught and let go
because we could always
catch another.
And let that one go too.

But hopelessly,
I had some sort of rude
awakening after you waved
a miserable goodbye
from your family's SUV.

And after the first hello
was said over the telephone
I knew I had lost you to
a bigger town,
to different friends,
and to new loves;
to Tennessee.








Author notes

Obviously, this is about an old friend of mine, Katie.
I've never really put it into words. But it's been on my mind alot, lately. It's rough, I know. Take it as you wish.

Anyway. Personal history. Past tense. That's all it is. We did everything together. She was an Aries. We were mistaken for sisters which we felt and pretended that we were. So I'd have to say that the phrase 'Time heals all' doesn't ring true here. Sure, it was supposed to happen and things can't stay the same. But I still would have liked to be able to watch her grow into a woman. I missed that part.

    : Comment:

Comments


  • Siaynoq
    March 20, 2008

    Edit | Reply
    I find this touching. It is very honest and vulnerable, and the image of you as a little girl sitting at the end of your driveway until dawn is a poignant one. It is true that sometimes we have to let people and places go, even if it hurts us to do so.

    I'm glad that you've encapsulated this memory into a poem. You probably found it therepeutic. And I'm also glad to see that you've started writing again. I missed the sharp honesty of your mind, and the open ingenuousness of your heart.

    Welcome back.

    Samwise

    x


    • Saraesa
      March 20, 2008
      Edit | Reply
      Hello there, Sam. Thanks for reading and commenting It's always a pleasure.

      This was therepeutic to me, you're right. I suppose I never really tried because I feared the simplicity of the topic and most of all, what I really felt about something that happened years ago.

      Thank again, Sam, really.

      Kristin

      x