Beneath a canopy so high

Electric stars on a concrete sky

I stand alone

Amidst the drone

The repeat refrains

Of roaring trains.

 

Yet even as the crowds go by

Engaged in their hue and cry

I hear the cheers

Back forty years

Not seconds long

That to you belong.

 

Ten thousands milled on the balcony

Ebullient in their joy and glee

They awaited

So elated

That war had ended

--Death relented.

 

They were the living

Of Life more forgiving

Scanning below

For a head to show

Of the arrivers

The lucky survivors.

 

Who at last from the abyss appeared

And the masses waved and cheered

Straining the ropes

Surging with hopes

For theirs to see

From the rising sea.

 

Think...but what are the chances

That – of a million odd glances

From lovers and mothers

And so many others

Across the vast hall –

Two could meet at all.

 

But Fate was theirs as they stared

Through four years parting that they shared

And quick was her stride

No rope could abide

As he fought the tide

To be by her side.

 

The hug warmed witnesses all over the station

Their cheers not as loud as the standing ovation

For the chosen two

The precious few

Whose example insures

That love endures.

 

As I listen to warmth still resounding

In this cavern so cold it’s astounding

I recall that day

And your part to play

In Life’s renewing

A Future pursuing.