Friends….

they remain in our memory 

as forever young,

captured in those first moments 

of our friendship….

when time really began;

As time passes, 

we watch ourselves grow 

with the unevenness of our heartbeats.

We feel ourselves aging –

with each knot in our muscles,

each cracking joint.

But friends remain

untouched by the passage of time,

cocooned in the nooks of our hearts.

While life happens, hours go by,

friendships are swaddled safe

from the vagaries of nature.

And long past time,

after many a virtual conversations 

we see them in flesh and blood

and we see them

with their thinning strands –

more salt than pepper;

with their creased smiles –

adding up more crinkles every time;

in their slowed yet firm steps.

And we know, we have grown 

unknowing, and yet – we have known.

And we know we have seen life

as we should – in its best and worst.

And we know, it does not matter –

time nor space has meaning

and we go back to the beginning of time

with our uneven heartbeats 

beating young as our friends!