I Left I Returned

When I left

You sat upon the floor

Impish smile

As you thumped upon

That toy piano

Making confusing noise

With childish joy

When I returned

I found you perched

 Upon a piano bench

Beside Grandma

Eyes intently watching

As she played

When I left

You played

An awkward rendition

Of "Let it Be"

With unbounded glee

So I traveled

With a smile

When I returned

You sat upon a  high school stage

A young lady

Playing show tunes

Upon those ivory keys

While I cried tears

Of pride and regret

That I had missed so much

Between I left and I returned

"I was on the road for most of my child's young life which haunts me to a certain extent to this day"

Two Outcasts

We both sat on lonely islands

In the middle of crowded classrooms

Along bustling hallways

As the swirling currents

Of social interaction

By passed with a nudge and whispers

Our only solace

Those moments in the maple grove

Behind the football field

Where we shared the pain

Bonded by a thread we shared

Easy conversation

I enthralled 

As my eyes watched

Her curly red hair wave in the breeze

Her freckles crinkle as she smiled

 Emotions played like a movie

In her blue eyes

Together we got through 

Those turbulent times

Until next semester 

When she never returned