HELLO OLD FRIEND

By Bob Christian

I’ve met you in hospital rooms,

Where the air hums with the rhythm of machines,

And the fluorescent lights paint shadows

On walls that remember every whispered goodbye.

You sat in the corner,

Silent,

Patient,

While I tried to bargain breaths for a chance at life.

I’ve seen you in the rear view mirror,

A flash of headlights on rain soaked roads,

The roar of a motorcycle cutting through the night,

Your touch like a lover’s whisper,

Close enough to feel the chill,

Yet distant,

Like a promise not yet fulfilled.

We’ve danced in the space between heartbeats,

In the pause where life hesitates,

Waiting for the next pulse,

The next inhale,

The next moment that says,

Not today.

You are the stranger at the end of the bar,

The familiar face in the crowd,

The one who knows my stories without words,

Who nods in understanding,

As if to say,

I’ve been here before.

So when you came to my door,

With your suitcase of silence,

I was not afraid.

I opened it wide,

And welcomed you in,

Like an old friend returning,

After years of wandering.

We sat together,

In a room that held memories like stars,

In the quiet where breaths become echoes,

And I knew,

This was not an ending,

But the echo of an embrace

That had waited lifetimes to be felt.

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