I never thought it would be you.

                                                     You tossed crumpled maps over your shoulder
                                                        ­                            waiting for me to unglue my
                                                                ­                                  eyes from the steady
                                                          ­                                                             comp­***.

                                                           ­    You leapt from stone to stone and branch
                                                          ­                      to branch while I tiptoed across
                                                                ­                               the rocks careful not to
                                                              ­                                                                 ­  slip.

                                                      You filled every hour with chance and opened
                                                          ­           your arms to uncertainty while I held
                                                                ­              mine close in case the breath ran
                                                             ­                                                                 ­   out.
You thought it could be me.

You helped me play in the morning
light without looking over my
shoulder for the darkening
sky.

You gently led me to mountainous cliffs
with views that almost made
me forget I could
fall.

You drank my worry like fresh water
instead of the bitter poison
I thought was my
burden.

                                You tossed the map and I can't find the compass
                                              and it couldn't be you but there
                                                       in the middle of your
                                                            ­ palm lies my
                                                                ­   north.