“I will see you tomorrow”

was our parting promise 

every day at the crossing;

you went one way and I went the other 

but I watched as your hair

bobbed along and disappeared with you

up the hill and round the corner. 

 

At twelve years old I believed in this moment

like buried treasure, X marks the spot

for a friend who would be here forever.

 

But I forgot our promise was a goodbye

and always would be a goodbye

even if we said it every day for the rest of our lives.

You were never mine, nor was I yours. 

We were passing ships in a day

turned to night and our parting promise

lost its “tomorrow” and became an “again.”

 

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Poem: © Kristiana Reed 2020

Between the Trees UK

Between the Trees US