By Kimbers
Date: 11 January 2000

Milestones

First was Darren
With his mass of freckles 
And missing front teeth
He was a head shorter than me
and could play a mean game of kickball
One day at recess, he put a grasshopper in my hair
And I called him a dork
The very next day, he kissed me on the cheek on the bus
Then punched me on the arm
And I wrote his name in bubble letters and hearts on my notebook

Then came Eric
Who held my hand at the movies
and looked dashing in his basketball uniform
He had one hell of a jumpshot
And could always make the bottle spin on me
I wore his jacket, and he carried my backpack
Three weeks into our lengthy courtship
He fell for Heather,
Who had breasts and a driver's license
And I scribbled over his face in my yearbook

Next there was Kirk
Who waited for me at the altar
And smiled at my assent
He made the best omeletes
And was a real good drinking buddy
Or so I was told
Nice place to visit
But you wouldn't want to live there
A couple of children and a couple of years later
I signed the papers returning his name to him

And now there is you
With your steady heart and gentle hand
An excellent storyteller
And a lover of truth
You exceed my experiences
and my expectations
It is my hope that someday,
some faraway day,
I will smooth the silver strands behind my ear
And, with veined, trembling hands entwined
Watch the clouds write our names in the heavens