There is an empty seat

There is an empty seat

Next to him

There was a time

When they would laugh

About growing old

Disgracefully

Eating an ice cream

Replete

With a chocolate flake

Her head on his shoulder

Wondering about the stories

The old folk could tell

The young at heart

Still holding hands

As they walked

With Hickory sticks

Clicking in unison

Rheumy eyed love

Giving mutual support

Silently

Foreheads touching

Sharing an intimacy

What could it be

He caught a glimpse

Of a memory

Dancing across the ocean

Floating on the horizon

Anchored in imagination

Not just a ship

But a dreamcatcher

In full sail

He would trade the wind

For a moment of stillness

To solidify the image

Perhaps she would laugh

The sound a sprinkle

Of stardust

Lightly falling

Iridescent on the water

Like fireflies

Rhythmically hypnotic

In the movement

Of the rise and fall

Lost in a dance

Until he hears the click

Of a walking stick

One spell breaks

Into another

Transporting him

Beyond melancholy

Entranced

Isolated in wonder

Socially distanced

Time out of mind

In a degree

Of mutually agreed

Separation