“A book is a letter
That the author writes to himself
To remind him of all
That could have been.”
-Shadow of the Wind

Another year has past.

She moved out into the country
Somewhere he would never go
Only to move back a few days later
Complaining of the heat-
When the real reason was that
It reminded her of him.

He found a job in the city,
In an office he knew she would hate-
Working late hours
To try to get her off his mind

A year has past
So much has changed-
And so much has stayed the same.

She still scribbles notes on napkins,
Instead of that nice mead notebook
She liked to keep her sketches in.
And she hasn’t quite shaken the habit
Of biting on her lower lip when she’s worried

He still walks too fast anyone to catch up
Even his friends
So they haven’t caught up
Since year she broke up with him
Nor has he stopped
Hanging up the phone
When the answering machine picks up

A year has gone by
They haven’t seen each other’s faces
For six months
And even though it’s been
Only six months-
It feels like forever.

Thursday morning he runs into
A childhood friend of his
And he cries when he tells him
How he thinks he’s crazy-
Because he met this girl
And knows she’s the one,
Because he loves her even though
She lends him her notes for the MCAT
On Dunkin Donuts napkins.

That Saturday of the same week
A new girl arrives on campus
And she laughs after
The girl tells them of her fiancé,
Who she loves to pieces-
But drives her crazy
Because he always hangs up the phone
When the answering machine picks up.

On his wedding she’ll smile
And try not to notice him.
On her wedding, he’ll laugh
And try not to remember.

A year has expired.
And…
It’s too late
For both of them-
Because they will never know
What kind of love
They could have had together.