Petals of Eternity

A Seed

You
The first
But not the first

You were so. . .
Indescribable

Cocky
Confident
Funny
A tease
But sweet in some ways

You were one of the first to see in me what my other friends took years to see
And you admired what you saw
You were the first to give me nicknames
You were the first to tease me
And make me laugh that way

Others shouted my praises
I turned my back on them
Ignored them
It annoyed me out of my mind

But you
You didn't have to tell me I looked beautiful
I don't remember that you ever did
You didn't have to touch me
You never did

You made me feel valued
You looked at me with respect
You admired me
You didn't care I was younger

Others I remembered
But I doubt they ever gave me a second thought
I was just there in the background

But you remembered me
Remembered my name
And I remembered you
The distance didn't matter

You and your friend would tease me
Stand to the side and talk about me
Knowing I could hear you

I was always shy
But around you I was bold
I was confident
I was fierce
And you respected that

You would make me laugh
Then tease me about it
And make me laugh more

I never knew your age
Where you came from
Your last name

But it never mattered
What mattered was the seed we planted

You challenged me to a race
I won
You argued you'd slowed down for me
And you had, the gentleman you were
But I argued you'd gotten a head start
And you had, it was impromptu

But it didn't really matter who won
Our breathless argument didn't really matter
What mattered was us watering the seed
That would continue to grow

I saw you that night
With your friends
Through the dark, I recognized you
You were looking at me
Did you know it was me?
If I had make a gesture of recognition, would you have come over?

I guess we'll never know
We'll never know what might have happened
Had we known each other in different circumstances
Had we grown up together
Had we been allowed to keep nurturing that seed
Who knows what might have come of it

A close friendship?
A romance?

But you wouldn't have gotten along with my friend
Meaning maybe I never would've been friends with them
Who can tell what would have happened

I remember your face to this day
Vaguely
But that's saying something because I'm bad at recalling faces from memory

I smile whenever I think of you

I never wondered where I stood with you
While I sometimes wondered with other friends

You were something else
But a wonderful something else

I couldn't say I loved you
No, I was far too young for that
And I never thought I liked you
Not the way you did me

But maybe I did
Maybe I really did
And maybe I still would

If we were given another chance
I think we'd be the closest of friends
And maybe something would blossom between us
Maybe the flower would grow into something more

Do you even remember me?
I would like to think so

Well, I remember you
And I'm not forgetting anytime soon