On that dark road, I met you.
That pale green hill flowing upwards
Your awkward walk swaying back and forth
and that high interesting voice bursting through the silence.
While everything in this world might be dim, I saw color.
Our shared art and our life.
I remember those long walks home and the bike rides from there and back
Those hot summer days
when the water came off both of us from that deep pool in my apartment complex.
I remember fall leaves on your trampoline. The springy stage for our practice of theatre.
But now its all gone.

I never realized how much I needed you till then
The world didn't seem the same, it turned pale again.
It was gray and frightening
I felt alone
It hurt
it stung like a deep pain in my chest
No one helped, everyone noticed.
That's what killed me.

Only months later did I see color in the world again.
Other were around me as you sat with our shared "friends."
I was solitary and alone but then I had someone
Not just someone, now I had my closest friends
They were filled with color and love. Slowly they filled that hole.

This is an ode to you...for teaching me to move on.