I saw you across a great distance
(Thirty or forty feet away) a long time ago
on a paved lot, enclosed by trees
And I saw you, a girl--
A space princess in metal bikini,
Riding a tricycle with lost boys
In furious BigWheel circles
(And pardon me if I'm selfish for saying)
But I imagined that I was the only one of the
Lost
Boys who saw what I saw.

We were safe, enclosed
By oaks, maple, rhodedendron,
In a galactic garden
Of outragous child delights

We embraced before you left
But never understood touch--
Never guessed at the
Seeds: cells
All asleep in our little selves

The day you left the old neighborhood
You turned to me and waved, smiling
And vanished beyond the trees
And became more powerful than I
Could possibly imagine.

Try as my mother may
No explanation could dry my skinned-knee tears
Or draw you back from the invisible force
That brought you to me
Then took you away
In the morning

A long time ago in a paved lot
Enclosed by trees
Far, far, and very near . . .