Rewind and Play

I found a tape,

your letter to me

nearly forty years

did we see familiar eyes

when we met again

did that meaningless hold

stay with us

we'd always known

one another, better than ourselves

a touch that every time, feels safe

I laugh freely

you took me unfamiliar places

granted me status; I accepted you

we both rode our escapes

decades later

on my return

your mother smiled 

we recall the same

streets and names

carry the echo off a wall we both hate

stood together near T.W.'s stain

out your window and on the stairs

imagining a different life

write me the camel again

read me poetry

I'll always believe you