Manifested in Moments

She only knew me as a poet
No back story
No sidebar
No in way of explanation
Just the words of my mouth
And the meditations of my heart
And we both found that acceptable

I only knew her as a skier
And the strong hand that I held
And the knees with the scars
And the wind still in her hair
And a mountain out there
Where she had been so
Alive, and now so early deprived

We sat in the dull roar
With the ocean below
And watched a movie together
Without earphones
Adding the dialog
Making our own story
Offering our own interpretation

And then we let go
At the beginning of the end
A phone call or two
Did not satisfy
We both realized
It had only manifested in moments fleeting, flying
A half-life of an encounter
Very real
But now evaporated somewhere
High over the Pacific.