She was quiet Almost shy And kind. I was crude Rough In a hurry I only thought of me She thought of us. When we dated We frequented local places Never venturing beyond Our quiet town We had some good times But I grew tired of the sameness I wanted to see the world Meet the smart money Feel the hustle And take in the give. Eventually things faded Our calls were infrequent Her voice became cold and formal A tiny crack seeped between us Growing into a fracture That couldn’t be healed When it ended We went on our own But it hurt me more Than I admitted Walking home that night I bit my lip To keep from crying. One day my mother said She thought she saw her In town Holding a young child by the hand She looked happy. “I thought you didn’t like her” I said Stopping, my mother searched my face “I was used to seeing you as a couple that’s all.” We met by chance years later We changed The world changed Things happened We stared at each other Not speaking Just staring Standing At arm’s length In awkward silence I was going to ask about children But I didn’t The anguish And bitterness of rejection Was still buried somewhere inside. We parted the same way we met Awkwardly Memories came back And I realized She was comfortable where she was A place where time moved In its own peculiar way A world of Small shops Familiar strangers Clean streets A place where mothers Kept an eye on their children. All in all Not a bad place to live And certainly not a bad life. A voice inside my head Whispered “Who was she?” I pretended not to hear When I look back I remember the time A girl walked into my life For a brief moment. Maybe it was love Or infatuation But whatever it was She was the girl I once knew.