I often think about how fleetingly people grace your life
One moment the most enchanting person you've ever known is there
And the next, gone
Just a glimpse from a dream

A short girl with blond hair and a contagious smile
Comes to mind
When I muse about this.
If I could tell you one thing about her
It would be that I always admired the way she moved through life
Like a Balanchine dancer
Precise and graceful. All speed and grace.

We always went off, into a little corner of our world
And talked about our dreams
How I turned into a demon
How she escaped death on a train.
A dream reminded me of her
A re-creation of a moment we shared long ago
On a sunny April day.

She hugged me.
She said
“I Love You”
Immediately spewing out rushed words
To fix the rift she thought she had created between us.
“As a friend”
Over
And over
Before I uttered a word

That enchanting girl closed up like a wilting flower.

She made a new friend
Whom she laughed with
Talked to
Conspired with

The last I saw of her
Was when
Years later
I asked if she was leaving.
A slow nod
And a hint of that
Bright smile
That lit up her eyes
Like the stars in the sky.

Slipping away,
Just like the memory
Of a dream
Once you’ve woken