The strength of your light
catches me unguarded
how brightly you shine
blooming brilliantly
how welcome
how confusing to me

The confidence of your glow
magnetic from all angles
I'm softened in the shadows
but your light does not permit them
so welcome
so challenging to me

Brighter than in our youth
brighter still than photographs
we talk and take a new one
twenty years since the day we met
how welcome
how perplexing too

I'm reflecting, always reflecting
your light, our youth
the memories hang pristinely
the good and the bad we shared
the good and the bad we did
to one-another

It's easy now to gape open
so easy to reveal
the absence of thought
crouched behind our actions
even now you mine a shiver
even now you well a tear

The candle on the table extinguishes
but the light does not dim
our night of talking ends
but the light does not dim

It's so confusing
I want you even more
than I ever did back then
I want to help you shine
more than I ever have before

So welcome
so confusing...

(Nov, 2017)