For Chuck

I was supposed to use the word Equilibrium in my poem today, but I’ve saved that for tomorrow.  An old college friend of mine passed away last night, at much too young an age!  I didn’t feel like writing a silly poem today.  Instead, I wrote the following poem for my friend, Chuck.

You graduate from college, leaving treasured friends behind.

You keep them in your heart and yet, they fade out from your mind.

From time to time you’ll hear their names and memories rush in.

But then your life gets busy and they fade away again.

We think we’ll always have more time, to spend with our old friends.

We put off making phone calls; we write notes we never send.

It’s years since I last saw you - though, at times, it feels like days.

It broke my heart to hear the news - that you had passed away.

The wounds of time and distance have left scars upon my heart.

I hope my memories heal them, even though we’re far apart

To say you were my favorite guy at Mac may sound trite or insincere, but it's the truth.  You truly were the sweetest, most genuine guy there – and nobody made me laugh the way you did – especially with your Jewish old man impression!

I wish I had said all these things to you sooner - before you passed away - before you got sick - before three decades had passed.  

 I loved you, Chuck Bernard!

My roommate was the editor of the yearbook and I swiped this from her files :-)