The World Waits

I heard a story once

From two men talking over a fence,

They never knew me nor I them

Yet the story they told was one that I kept.

The story they told was one of two friends

Both lived in a land so cold

That polar bears wore capes to escape the snow.

This land was frozen all year round

And often there was little food to be found.

Yet this land was a mystical place

As its darkest nights

Lit the brightest of skies

That shone off lakes

Of shining ice.

It was on this ice

The two friends learnt how to skate.

Pilfering hours and laughing nights away.

A strange sight they were

So different, yet quite the same

But they both loved their land

And that was clear.

So the boys turned men as years flew by

Yet not a tear was shed when they said goodbye

Perhaps they knew they would meet

When the music started again.

One ventured for foreign shores

Where he danced under dazzling lights

For crowds that hailed him to the sky.

The other remained little known

Other than to those who are near and close.

He still danced on frozen ice

That glowed with a light

Only a thousand stars could provide.

Life was simple and he was content

Until the day war tore through his land.

Now we all know this story

And we know how it ends.

I dearly repent I couldn't change this end.

I imagine he fell asleep watching the stars

Glow like diamonds against a dome of glass.

He didn't shed a tear for his lost friend

Perhaps he knew they would meet

When the music started again.

The other lived to a ripe old age

And happened to die with a smile on his face.

He knew he would meet his friend

When the music started again.

Sometimes when the earth sings its strange song,

I run to the window

To see them dance across the sky

And laugh away the night.

And when the song stops and they take a bow

I watch the world quietly wait

For the music to start again.

Photo by Julentto Photography on Unsplash

Photo by Hans Isaacson on Unsplash