It came to pass that one day
I walked along a not-oft traveled
But not altogether-forgotten
City street.
And as I ambled-
Not carelessly, but decidedly
Without determined purpose-
It began to rain
As I contemplated
How sunny days often turn to rain,
Some errant drop splashed-
Itself quite purposefully-
Upon my face.
Knowing well enough
That in such cases
I had yet another cheek to turn
I carefully planned to ignore
The sudden event.
But the Heavens had planned
For a chance encounter that day
And They would not be denied
By a little thing like
My inconvenience.
And so as They opened up
Their charge upon me,
I turned my gaze around
Searching for anyone
To call a friend.
Fearful to look up too directly
Or else face directly Heaven’s test,
I scanned the quickly darkening path
For signs of a dry place
Offering reprieve.
And so it was that I should meet
That tall, friendly confidant
For whose company I would have traded
My kingdom for just
A moment’s counsel.
I hustled to the spot
Underneath his leafy boughs
That was dry and secure
Where it seemed even Heaven
Held no power.
As I looked out
Upon the wettened world
As if it were some scene removed,
I thought of my new friend
And how we’d come to meet.
This was not some ancient sage,
Nor was this some sapling
Who had come to this young town
Much as I had
Just a few years before.
This was a sturdy kind of some years
Who must have seen his former life
Felled, and all around him constructed
A new world of brick and mortar
And strangers.
As a young one himself
He must have guarded
Field mice and foxes and furry things
Who, like I now did, looked to his strength
To weather the storm.
To be sure, he was still young
When that past world expired,
For he had continued to stretch his legs
Under and through the sidewalk,
Even as his roots were hauled away.
These were the circumstances
Upon my first meeting
With my new friend,
The one to whom I owed so much
In my time of need.
His side of the story
I cannot say for certain
As he remained mute and strong
That day, while I poured out
My sincerest thanks.
And my thanks were sincere!
Just as I appreciated his strength
At such a trying time,
I marveled at how
He let not a drop trouble me.
But true and sadly,
Just as with any friend
Who means so much
In such a short time,
We grew apart.
I would grow up
To be a man that would travel
And see the world from
Every angle and place
And meet many interesting friends.
He, too, continued to grow up
Wordlessly watching
The world around him
Even as the new world
Came to be the old.
Again, I cannot say
What or if he thought of me,
But I can say that I remembered
Though did not often
Think of him.
Until it came to pass one day
That I was again walking through
That now seasoned town,
Passing along streets to which
I had been accustomed.
Lost in thoughts of the Congo
And the castles of England and France
And the many things I’d seen,
I wandered beneath those
Once-familiar arms.
Having not seen my friend
For many years and even then
Not having seen him much at all
I failed to notice him,
And I nearly passed him by.
But, ever the better friend than I,
He well-remembered me
And reminded me so
In the most bittersweet way
I have ever been so reminded.
At the moment I passed under
His once-impenetrable bough
He let fall a single, heavy droplet
Which struck the same cheek
As when we had first met.
In a moment of perturbance,
I almost failed again
To recognize my old friend,
Or worse still,
His simple heartfelt gesture.
As I realized who stood before me
And the import of his salutation,
I could not help but
Amplify his single tear
Of remembrance and friendship.
It is truly such a thing
That friendship is
In the moments of joy
And the moments of trouble
And in the moment of need.
And while it is truly human
To appreciate and forget
It is something altogether divine
To remember and wait
For a friend to return.
For that lesson
I thank my friend today
For his gift of remembering me
Long after
I passed along my way.