Old Love

Three years we lived as one,
I, the Master, she the Mistress,
She did my bidding, answered my call-
Enveloped me through the long nights,
Gave my days purpose.

A being apart, yet part of my being.
I met her as a boy, left her as a man.

Time passed, calendars turn,
Ten years, twenty, twenty five,
We met once more,
She is bedraggled, unkempt, uncared for,
A bag lady, the smell of age about her.
I remain in her presence silently for a minute,
Then, as I turn to leave, I know,
She doesn't remember me.