8 Years

8 years between then and now;
between lovestruck teen oblivion and adulthood.

It's New Year's Eve at the Silverdome,
heavy metal tonight,
the same music we'd listen to for hours
at grandma's old apartment.
Those were years of Ozzy and Metallica,
and hungry, passion-filled moments stuck
in between your many groundings.

I wasn't surprised to see you there.
Your eyes were riveted on the stage
while Metallica rocked, song after song
in a heavy metal paradise.
It was almost like old days..fast-forwarded 8 years.
It was as if years hadn't passed,
except we seemed an eternity apart.

While they played our song,
a chill of memories ran down my spine.
Every moment we spent together filled the minutes,
overflowed my mind.
Time shifted:
we were together,
swaying to the music,
so close we could feel each other's breath,
you nibbling
gently on my ear.

I would've spent an eternity there
in the memory;
I wouldn't have noticed.
you were the first person I ever
connected with,
I wouldn't have ever let you go.

But I had to. I had to let those days go,
those times
of innocent youth and heart-pounding,
butterfly-filled love,
love that isn't supposed to go away,
but does, in a heartbeat.

You were 8 years gone from my memory & my heart.

We're in the same place but
we have stranger eyes,
we're just two more Metallica fans
enjoying the music.

Stubborn memories tug at my mind
and I feel your ghost with me,
while I catch a glimpse of you in the crowd,
the face of my first love,
the face of my youth.


© 2000 by Erin D. Conroy. All rights reserved.

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