To see an old friend dwindle,
shrink, melt, into herself
disappearing word by word
and name by name.
Who she is, is not who she was;
who she is, is not who she will be.
Inside, her spirit shines,
gleams with an inner light
as if it has coalesced, concentrated, curled into her depths
like a seed waiting in the earth
for the spring rains.
I saw it look out of her eyes.
They twinkled like once ago.
Then the twinkle blinked back inside to hide
and once again the woman who was
became the woman who is, who has become,
for now.
Written by Tasha Halpert – North Grafton, MA
Photo by Cheron James
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