Hello Old Friend

I heard stories of you during my childhood

but never did I lay eyes on you for myself

it was not until I was twelve years old

that I first got a glimpse of you

however, I could not fully comprehend

or see you for what you were at that time

then at eighteen our paths crossed again

my narcissism took center stage

and it was all about me

when I encountered you at twenty-eight

my drug haze had me in a blinded state

and everything else was more important

less than a year later

on my twenty-ninth birthday

I saw you face to face

for the first time

I finally understood what everyone

else had said about you all those years

at the age of thirty-five

there you were again

staring into my eyes

forcing me to handle things

I had no experience with

when my wife was sick

I walked the hospital hallways

peering into rooms with open doors

seeing you in many of the faces

at forty-four I was told that you were back

but a global pandemic kept me 

seperated and distant from you

your presence did not seem real or tangible

I know one day we will finally

have our overdue conversation

I will be here when you are ready