This Day

It isn’t that I don’t think of you

Nearly every day,

Or on all the other days

Just as often.

It’s only that on

This Day,

I am reminded of when

Time

Divided itself in two –

The Before

and

The After.

When the world sent its strongest reminder

Of the one and only thing

That matters in this Life.

Now,

As I lay awake on

This Day

Many years past The After,

My thoughts linger a moment longer

On memories of

Your voice,

Your laugh,

Your smile.

And on

This Day,

I allow myself

A momentary pause from what is real

Wishing that

This Day

Could still be

The Before.

Dedicated to Carl Lane Metzler (1981 to 2003)