Desert Heat by Brian Brown

                                             The One Who Never Got Away. 

Childhood playmates

In the desert heat

Toys and bikes and swimming pools

Innocent and sweet.

She was blonde

I was not

I  would be plain

She would be hot.

The changes came and we groped around,

Never quite lovers, but always in love.

And then she was gone.

There were occasional contacts over the years 

As we each lived our lives 

On opposite side of the continent. 

Marriages and children, a divorce for her

A steady partner for me.

The years went by

A couple of decades

The internet appeared, and then one day an email.

And she was back.

In my life. 

The years had brought her a second marriage 

And a solid companion 

And a cancer death for me. 

But we go on, because there is only one alternative.

And now, six years on, she is back again. 

Coming to a city near me soon.

We’re old now, settled and safe

Grandparents both

But still, way down in there 

Is the dim spark of..

desire?

For what might have been.

We’ll meet, laugh and reminisce

about two children

Innocent and sweet

And toys and bikes and swimming pools

In our desert heat.