We Can't Go Back

We Can’t Go Back

We can’t go back

To youthful carefree days

When life stood still

And heaven was just a touch away.

When a simple evening walk

Brought wonder, ecstasy, and love

A shared happiness so complete

It transcended simple words.

You walked me home that night

And your touch sent my senses reeling

As your shoulder brushed mine

With a faltered step

On an unexpected rock in the shadows below

For one brief moment, you held me tight

And entrapped my heart.

You kissed me then

Oh, so shyly - yet ever so tenderly

On my cheek.

I was too shy to kiss you back

To put my arms around you

But I yearned for that moment to last

Last forever,

Wrapped tightly in your embrace.

When you left,

You took a piece of my heart with you

And I didn’t wash my face for a week

Lest I wash off

That precious, sweet and tender kiss

You had bestowed upon my cheek.

Our lives changed when we moved away

Silently and in secret, I kept dreaming

But our paths never crossed again.

My broken heart healed

And life went on.

We became different people

With different lives

Different goals

Different loves…

But the memory of that first love remained

Buried deep within my heart

To surface in those secret moments

When I walk alone in the dark

Stumble on a rock

And falter in my step….

A single shy peck upon my cheek

Still sears my face

As though a flame….

And the wonder of that first love

Still warms my aging heart.