Childhood Sweethearts

Today-
You see me in a new hue.

Not a child,
No more your sweetheart,
The one you loved to flaunt.
Your trophy girl,
Of childhood fantasies,
She has now-
Dissolved,
Into me.

After a gap, as we meet again,
I don't rush into your arms-
The strong arms of the third grader,
Who would beat to pulp, the Bully Ben,
Who'd often steal my Scooby Doo Eraser,
It seems like yesterday. The fights,
And the detentions, the lines we had to write,
And the tears your shirt soaked in-
Mine.

As I look into your eyes,
I still find the softest brown hue.
And I still notice the way your eyes crinkle,
When you smile your dimpled smile.
Yet, I do not rush into your arms,
Nor do you tuck me into yourself-
Wonder why?

Today-
I see you in a new hue.

No longer the brown eyed
First ever guy of of mine.
Tall and enigmatic,
Sharing the love still-
You stand,
Transfixed,
In awe.

Together, my first girl?
You ask.
Nodding in joy,
I wait-
For the first step,
To each other.

Gently, a step forward-
Then another.

I just cant hold myself back-
It seems forever.
Rushing in, I hold onto you,
And looking up, into your eyes-
I smile,
It feels the same.

Yes, it feels just the same,
After all these years.

The brown jersey of yours,
Still reminds me of the candy I have spilled,
All over you.

The punch on my arm,
Reminds me of the first fight,
We had; for the marbles, I didn't share.

And the fresh drop of tear,
Reminds me of that fresh winter morn,
When I woke up, in a new place,
Far, so far away.

And today,
As I see you once again,
I know-
That heart can never stop loving me,
In any hue, any shade, I be.