Paths

Neighborhood pals from childhood,

We shared pets, bicycles and skates…

Discussing our dreams in a backyard tent,

Confirmed us as best playmates.

Your Vietnam War and my years in school,

Provided a divisive wedge…

Separating our paths forever,

I floundered, you lived on the edge.

I read in the paper you married,

Had children, tried settling down…

I changed careers repeatedly

Moving often, from town to town.

The present time finds us survivors;

We've a plethora of stories to tell…

Both alone now in two separate places,

Different paths followed, yet both parallel. 

It's a shame past youth's not a magnet,

Magically drawing old friends near…

Sharing a tent behind “The Home”,

Discussing things old men fear.