The Fourth Time (from the Little Green Book)

Carrie leaves town tomorrow. It's so hard watching the hours grow short. I'm very lucky to have a friendship that has lasted across the years and the miles. I know that leaving her at the airport isn't really a goodbye ... it's just a temporary farewell until we meet up again.

That doesn't make it much easier.

There are so many things that we share -- the people and music and memories that have lasted through the years. I hope she knows I love her dearly, and that I hope there's a time when the distance isn't so far between us. She's my sister -- not by blood, but by choice.

I wrote a poem a few years ago when Carrie left Memphis to go back to Florida. My writing has come a long way since then ... but the thoughts haven't changed. It's time everybody else out there realizes what a special chica she is. :)

The Fourth Time
It isn't as if the door has never closed before --
We part, we cry, I break down inside,
A chunk of my soul shuts down for a while
Hates herself for a while
Alone.
And summers pass with angry breeze,
The heat and the loneliness wash over me
As the ocean slaps against your back porch
Erasing timid footprints
In my mind.
And for all the times I should have gone,
For all the times I broke your heart,
Pieces fall like angry rain
(The sun will come another day --
it's crying).
I hide, I run, I scream again,
Afraid of the human sea again --
But I'm glad I finally told you
How it felt after all this time.
I'm shocked, I'm in pain;
I think I'm dreaming of the beach again,
And bonds we never sever
However far we try to run.
And I can truly say
It's Classic --
Every time we're together,
The languidness is comforting
As if you'd never left.
And tomorrow we will drink
Warm cups of friendship and coffee
And we will grow up inside
But never grow apart ...
The bond inexplicable but strong
As the door closes again.

I love ya, girl.