He stood so close to me,
I could feel his breath, smelling of crisp apples,
for it was autumn and we walked briskly through
the winds of change.

His long blue-black hair and celadon eyes,
captured me immediately. The slanted sun touched
his face with a coral glow as we gathered our books
and headed to his dorm.

He stopped suddenly, gently brushing his hand
through my hair,
pulling at the longest strands of auburn, then releasing
them quickly as if he'd gone too far.

I waited to see what would happen next;
the wind caressing his charcoal locks, and
swinging my red scarf in the cold, fresh air.

There was a burst of light snow, fluttering down
on us as we said goodbye. He always called me
"sport" as he knew my love was raging within me,
but he was "spoken for" by the girl back home.

Still, I wonder, if it were a different time and place,
would he have been the one. I cherished my time with him,
brief as it may have been...

And now he's with God, after a lifetime of success and joy
with his girl from home. I'll always feel blessed to have
known him; to have laughed, sung, joked, shared lunches, and cried on his shoulder about life's foibles.

Thank you, dear sir, forever. At 21, you were my guiding light !