For Just a Second She Was Here*

    For Just a Second She Was Here

“Nelda”
The woman called
From somewhere in the back of the shop
And without a thought
My head jerked around
And I started to stand
As momentarily surprised
I looked for her
Only to be jerked back to reality
And the present

For “Nelda” has been gone
Many years
Although that was not the name
I called her

How vivid though
Was the moment
When I heard someone call her name
A name you don’t hear very often

Ah, but, of course, it was not for her
But just for a second
That loss had not registered
And just for that second
I anxiously turned my head
And just as it moved a bit
The sad memory came back

Stupid, really
After all the years
Why should that silliness
Nearly bring a tear to my eye

It is just like the other night
When something happened
I don’t even remember what
When I thought of reaching for the phone
And calling
To tell her all about it
Like all those other calls
Many years ago

I don’t do that much anymore
Though for years
It happened all the time

She’s been gone for years
But just for a second
I thought she was in the back of the shop

Michael M
Home from a day at The Tattered Suitcase
SETX
05/03/11
8:15 PM