Between the Bookends

I remember the first glance

that turned into a gaze 

I sat down across from her

a row or two behind

so I could see her

she turned a few times to look back at me

I was fascinated by the spark

when our eyes met

it was magnetic in that

it was hard to look away

I remember the first touch

not the one where I sat behind her

playing with her hair

but her hand touching mine

as we spoke a few weeks later

and again at youth night

outside the church 

on the walk beside the lot

the touch that went right through me

like an electric shock

I remember the first kiss

and the taste of her lips

the way her fingernails pulled against my neck

and the way she didn't let go of my hand

when I started to move away

I remember our last kiss all the more

on the same day that I lost her

the taste of her lips

the fragrance of her 

the fingernails on my neck

the hesitation to let go

and I moved toward the door

kisses like bookends

on the book of our life

filled with stories of love and dedication

heartbreak and sorrow

triumph and failure

sometimes trouble outside our door

but no walls between us 

ever

and no secrets

always with truth

and quick to forgive 

she made our life together

a little glimpse of heaven

it's hard to believe that life could go on without her

but it does