Something Less Than Love

I was seven when she left us just a little boy. that long ago summer when the heat burned upon the earth and also our passions. she left us with the handsome man with the big car. since then even after all these years I have looked and searched for a place to lose my sadness. sometimes in the stillness of sleep. I would hear the songs she sang as I fell asleep in her comfort. or feel her lips on my cheek. I dreamt of her hearing her almost forgotten footsteps coming into my room. I painted her beautiful face until time faded it to a blurr. Now a man no longer a little boy with torn jeans and. dirty tee shirt. people say to me dumb things like. She is still out there and thinks of you everyday with a love in her heart. I nod in concert with the thought I whisper sure or maybe. but inside I know in her heart. it's something less than love. yes for sure something much less than love