Dale Lloyd

By day we walked the sand along the water’s edge,
by night we danced in moonlit hush beside the sleeping hedge.
Life seemed so grand—
the future resting in our hands.

We dreamed of all we hoped might be,
of endless possibility.
Hope was easy then to hold,
a simple song we sang, unrolled.

All we knew was what we saw
reflected in each other’s eyes,
and with each kiss the waking world
came suddenly alive.

Caught in the spell of youthful art,
we carved our names in white-birch bark.
It bore the cutting patiently,
as life stretched on—so wide, so free.

I was hers and she was mine,
or so it seemed in that sweet time.
But life is seldom what we see
when young and unafraid and free.

Life called her left; it called me right.
We lost each other in the night.

And though it’s sad, I feel no regret,
despite the ache that still remains.
If I were given the chance once more—
yes, I’d do it all again.