Eulogy

Strolling along my hometown boulevards
One crisp autumn evening, I chance upon
A simpler me hustling through the twilight.
Curious, I follow just a few quiet
Foot-falls behind and watch, wondering where this
Sixteen-year-old’s headed in such a rush.
We clear the park as muffled cheering swells
Above the chimney tops, and I recall
Cutler’s field. I can even see the haloed
Glow of stadium lights, smell the heady
Blend of dirt track, fresh mowed grass, winter clothes
And peanuts. A glad-eyed girl in a blue
Checkered dress waits by my side, then the crowd
Surges, stands to sing our high school anthem;
Bass drums punctuate the night with their point
Blank BOMP! BOMP! BOMP!—then they’re gone—vanished
In a heartbeat. I look to see, call out,
“Wait up!” but find—I too have disappeared.