When Natalie loved me
there was hope.
When Natalie loved me
there was somewhere to go
moves still to make.
The game wasn’t done then
back when Natalie loved me.

She was wonderful and new
and exuberance bled
from our every step.
We were joyful,
she and I,
in the days
when she looked at me ecstatically
and spoke oh so lovingly.

It didn’t last.
It couldn’t.
Things wouldn’t stay the same.
Stasis is rarely a natural state
and eventually
it made sense that she would learn
understand the error of her ways
and find a new better way
through which to unlove me.

Since that time
we’ve drifted.
I don’t even know where she is
or how
but I remember who she was
back then
when the world seemed open and new
and we always had something to do
and emotions seemed pristine and true
when Natalie loved me.