I wrote this after one of my high school reunions a few years ago. We have shared marriages, death, sickness, happiness, joy and the rest of life's inevitable events at these rare gatherings, and the Internet has provided a central place to pray and care for each other. Shared age, shared goals, shared desire for joy and happiness, and a shared need for emotional support have been helpful to all of us. The shared human experience is augmented by our shared history.
He sat at the table
looked around
Each of the women
had been the subject of his inept fantasies
so many years ago.
He was awkward and unsure of himself then
and never asked them to dance.
His mind was elsewhere
and his face was always in a book.
He never went to the dances
or the parties.
He told himself
that he would be safe
with little human contact;
but, when he moved on to college
he had to learn those skills to get along.
He regretted that his adolescent self
missed sharing part of his life with them.
He looked around the table again.
He was happy that their radiant beauty remained
and the glow of their maturity
warmed him.
Their smiles reminded him of teenage passions
and long-lost loves.
He told them he loved them,
turned to the one he loved
and knew that his life
had meaning.
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