You struck the match
You birthed the fire
The room was dark
Our bodies brighter
I was breathless
I was high
From hello,
Until goodbye.

You called me nightly
You let me in
Awakened a sense
Of fun and new
A comfortable
Abode for two.

I didn’t know love
Could be defined
By chinese buffet
And ripened peaches
I didn’t realize love
Was at the door,
In the pool, down
the road at the farm
Or even the dusty
Old piano where we’d
Play the music from
Our favorite games.

You, I,
We never saw it coming
Even though it was
Achingly inevitable.
We were never
Conscious of the bigger
Thing - just good friends,
Great friends, best friends.
I didn’t know our time
Would run short.
You talked of the future
You made me smile
I’d sit beside you
Talking life, sad because
School was coming up
And you lived far away.

I didn’t know I loved you,
Even up until the end
Dragging our feet in the sand
Ocean’s breath on our backs
cold, because the sun
Was setting and so was summer.

I didn’t know matches
Could die and fade.
I always thought they
Led to magnificent flames.
It hurt too much,
The pain, the loss,
The start and end -
I miss you, friend.

You broke the match
You killed the fire
My heart is dark
My outlook darker
I was breathless,
I was high
From hello,
Until goodbye.