Many years later a memory forgotten
sits in my head pristine, unrotting:
We stood, myself and you, my friend,
so close our shoulders brushed
Hunched over the papers, forward bent,
I spoke the words, you sang them unrushed
In the room your voice so soft
echoed every perfect note
buoyed by the faint music aloft
as you memorized the strange language by rote
Friend I see never again,
that quiet room sits forever in my mind
I won't ask how you've been,
just know my recollections are all kind