The Stranger I Know

He passed me on the narrow sidewalk.

His walk tells me he has never been poor,

Or lonely, or afraid - just somewhat bored.

I want to touch his storm tousled hair,

And gaze into his deep brown eyes.

He smiles at me, with nary a care.

We’d seen each other there

Many times past.

It was decades before,

I’d first gazed upon that perfect silhouette,

And I’d seen him since,

On the bus, at the grocer, the corner store.

Too familiar to forget.

Too familiar to ignore.

Then gone again.

Will I remember this casual day?

When I see him again, in a similar way.

In a place that no one ever leaves,

Where you know a person by their walk,

By their laugh, but not always their name.

And I know that should we ever talk,

It just wouldn’t be the same.

The spell would break.

And so, for my sake,

I stay quiet and know we’ll pass another day.

This perfect person, whom I grow old with,

From far away.