Every day I am here, but you are not.
The days, feeling as if they are years, crawl by with the pace of a snail
and the months drag on in slow motion
in this structured temple of rules and regulation,
with its damaged marble floors.
And a façade that beckons you in like an embrace,
but could as easily trap you with its concrete structure.
Our entrance, continued day in and day out cyclically,
only to be released after being given assignments
Enough to make us go mad.
Yet, there are also the fleeting joys and memories that you are missing.
The beaming lights that leave your skin hot to the touch and your eyes blinded,
the endless thumping music that leaves your ears ringing,
and everyone’s bodies swaying to the fast paced rhythm.
The loss of an experience of a life time
and the daily absence of friends is normal now.
I know.

I have been meaning to write you, but I do not know what to say.
To ask you how you are doing and to hope for a better reply.
Prom was last weekend and it made me think of you.
The life of the party, always urging us to join in.
Letting lose and dancing with so much skill
Like not a soul on this earth was watching.
I have always admired that about you.
I remember us screaming the lyrics to be able to hear each other over the deafening sound.
And the amused looks our friends gave us.

I went to visit you.
You hugged me tight and said you missed me.
And I recalled the dreadfully long trip we made almost a year ago today
that did not feel so long because I had you to talk to.
In the cramped bus we made our journey,
over bridges that stretched on into eternity
and gold, glistening, farmland
to arrive to the warm ocean breeze on our faces and the hot, grainy sand between our toes.
And the fun we had even though it was raining.
In a month we ago again without you.
Though the destination has changed.
as well as the plans we had made.
But it is okay. Next year will be better, and so will you.
And all I can do is hold hope for next year.