That name just mentioned, I knew her well, he said, I knew her very well

When in youth our hearts did soar with fancies and the like

We shared our secrets and our dreams

Invincible we were, our lives ahead were an adventure to be had

And plunge we did, headlong without a fear

Into all that came our way, the world at our beck and call

Together we were, dare I say again, invincible

But strong willed as well, and independent in our ways of doing things

What came of that, he said, I know that too

Our youth matured, the flights to which we soared came of different heights

And into the clouds or smoke between, there vanished all our dreams

Oh yes, we felt new things together, but less of pleasure and more of pain

As life moved on we parted ways, he said, a sadness in his voice

What became of us, I hardly know, the separation it so slowly came

Till finally, at the end of day, we found ourselves far out of range

Both of sympathy and of sight, too far away to touch or hear

We found new worlds for ourselves, and thrived within them too

Not the same, of course, it could never be that way

But happy and fulfilling all the same, separate but equal comes to mind

Separate for sure, but, as for equal, I cannot say

There was a time, for many years, when I had forgotten all that past

And lived as thought I never knew the closeness of that friend’s embrace

There were new friends now, but not the same, not in secrets or in dreams

But just as good perhaps, and maybe even better

But memories now you have brought to me, subtle in a prying way

Between the layers of my thoughts they bring a wedge of doubt

Was my fate abridged so long ago when my life with that friend ended course

And caused us both to find alone the path we’d take forever after

Would things be different now had we not parted, of course we must conclude

For any moment changed in time, like light, reflects its path a different way

And after that, just more and more, the divergence exceeds all hope

Of seeing again that moment just before that reflection first began

Would things be better now had we not parted, do I really care to ask?

Memories of a joyous youth can be deceptive to our minds

Our lives are what we have now, what we have brought upon ourselves

Reflected in a thousand different ways