FRIEND

Remember that last afternoon
Following a swim in the cool river
And two thick bowls of sun-warmed berries
Splashed with farm-fresh cream
Rich and red and ripe
Shared on the porch

Sweaty meadow grasses
And fragrant wildflowers
Made us summer heady and field full
Surrounded by the drone of noisy insects
And sometimes interrupted
By outspoken calves and their mothers

We sat sipping the sun
Until the day stretched long and
Clouds began to gather the night
Our words trailed off like the evening breeze
And again we took our separate paths
To new hills and other valleys

But here amidst the rocks hard and barren
The sharp and jagged cliffs
Cut and cold
I am
Lonely and left
Wanting
Light and laughter
On a porch
Once shared