Gracious

The ghost of you went graciously, And gratefully I watched it go. And silently, the solitude Replaced the face I used to know. The thought of you evaded me, The years were knives and time the stone. Your sharpness softened in my sleep; The edge of you wore blunt, grew slow. But that same ghost, eventually, Returned and made his presence known. You sat beside me, touched my hand, Never one to leave well enough alone. The ghost of you went graciously, Now, achingly, I watch it go. And once again I'm seventeen, And you're the only one who knows.