I hold you in my memory
And you are perpetually my friend
And simultaneously not my friend

Because you graduated before me
Or we all got caught up in our own colleges
Or because you moved away across the ocean to study
Or to join the peace corp
Or your job after college took all your time as you chased your dreams
Or you enlisted and may as well be in Antarctica

And the time stretched on without talking
Without seeing each other
Without visiting our hometown

And it is okay.
But also not.
Because you were a wonderful friend.

But in my stories of way back when
I still refer to you as my friend
Because I hope that our paths
Our millions of trajectories, vectors
Will cross again
How fortunate they met once.