A Face

Oh, it is true:

you are a face to remember.

When cities have fallen

and stories are written

in our ashes

by our children

they will remember your face

like a promise;

like a half-forgotten deity;

like a beacon

across the lake of my childhood,

your face - 

in passing,

our footprints in the sand, 

mere meters from impact.

I should have asked you

to stay longer.

I should have asked you to stay.