Stars through the trees

I thought about you
and what might have been,
if different choices had been made,
different paths walked.

If we had met
earlier,
later,
in a different place,
in a different era.

We might have been close friends,
more than acquaintances
hanging out around a camp fire
listening to a testimony of faith.

We walked through the forest
speaking of eternal truths,
and questions that needed to be answered,
glimpsing the stars through the trees
before they overtook us.

I'm sure you look different now.
We wouldn't recognize each other.
If we met
there would be that moment
where you know you know the person
but you just can't place them.

Any words spoken might
have jumbled meaning,
unclear to either hearer.

A stuttering silence
might follow.
A few staccato phrases
linked for social conformity
and ease of parting.

We might walk away
bemused and indifferent,
missing the moment
of re-connection,

only remembering later
the stars through the trees.