If We Meet Again
When many springs and autumns have gone by,
Amid a crowded concourse, if we meet
By accident, will we part with a sigh
Or stop to see each other, smile, and greet?
The heavy husk of silence may conceal
Our voices for a while. How will we know
The newborn persons we've become, or feel
That old deluge of love felt long ago?
To start a talk, I'll bring your kids up first:
"Your oldest is a gentleman; your nose
Sits perfectly upon his face!" A burst
Of joy will swell our hearts and draw us close.
Soon joy may transform into gentle laughter
As we explore this baffling book called 'life'
By leafing slowly through each bulky chapter
On mirth and gloominess, on peace and strife.
Though time will tend to flutter very fast,
We might forget our duties for the day.
When feet grow tired, we'll find a seat at last,
Unravelling that old bond in our way.
I might confess your beauty's still the same,
And you might take it with a modest smile.
I'll wonder if our former passion's flame
Still burns within you in that very while.
"I hope you're happy", if I mumble this,
You'll answer with a partly-broken grin,
"I'm doing great! There is no lack of bliss.",
Secreting every misery within.
And I shall do the same: sustain the cheer;
Not let my tumid heartache anguish you;
Lest painful scenes from bygone times appear,
That bit by bit will obfuscate our view.
What shall I gain by wilting off that flower
Of false conviction that enshrouds your cries,
And tells you everything might have been sour
If we had not unyoked our prior ties?
But if my posture fails to hide this fact,
Will you implode oppressed by woe and hate,
Repeat the former masquerading act:
Of getting up to say, "I’ll go; it’s late,"
Unfurl the pall of silence veil our faces
Anew, assume a stolid, hostile stance
While visiting those old and fading traces
Of love now lost, and share a parting glance
While leaving as if we were never one,
But joined by destiny's delusive play
Into a whole whose wholeness was soon done,
As I pass like a stranger on your way?