My niece asked about you yesterday,
she said she liked you.
I said, " I like him too, but we're just friends."
That was a lie, but sometimes it is okay to pretend,
when something is too complicated for a child to comprehend.
I do hope, however, I never have to lie like that again.
Because as the words left my lips
I remembered how achingly I missed
you, my best friend.

Pondering on diffused starlight,
  dandelions caught rapid fire
     when a glimpse of wishes
       went up in smoky embers,
hence the skies opened up
   as it rained crystal clarity,
neath each cloud burst
  a message of compunction
      for the earth was uneasy,
  that no one cared enough
    to take good care of its bounty
       and the wonders that be,
    as puddling imperfections
          of liquefied vigilance
     within teardrops of deliverance,
            cleansed its wounds once again**

                           *in yet another chance