Picture poem

“March 25th, 2000”

Five people, a single moment captured.
The moment before everything changed.
For better, for worse, everything is always changing.
For that single moment, we were perfect, carefree, happy.
Four best friends, a tag along little brother,
moments those four young children couldn’t possibly cherish.

A dark haired talkative little girl
with whom I shared my best laughs,
my best jokes, my best smiles.
A girl who would grow up to be
a Florida girl, never losing her qualities of
optimism, constant laughter, and the ability
to charm anyone who crossed her path.

A red haired child with silly sunglasses and a pink hat
continues to share her uniqueness with me
as we both grow up and move on
to different locations, different stages of life,
different people, different memories.
Going from sharing every moment
to having seven-hundred miles separating us,
changing us, as all distance does.

A military son, he was used to the change.
Moving from place to place was what he knew.
Change, of course, should have been expected,
but expectation does not prevent acceptance.
Best friends, a second grade puppy love,
and then suddenly it was gone.
Like he always did, he moved on, and it seemed that
I was left without a best friend, without my “other half.”

Friendships change, people change, lives change,
moments change, personalities change, ideas change,
everything changes, out of anyone’s control.
Change from day to day, hour to hour, second to second,
Good change, bad change, indifferent change,
all change is opportunity to change with the change
making up rules as you go along on the ever-changing
adventure humans define as “life.”