I walk home on a quiet footpath through the park
And I see you in the distance quietly approaching me.
Your gray hair and nice, sharp clothing spark
in my mind the image of a professor just free
of the labors of researching and teaching.
I may be right, I could be wrong. I don't pause
to ask "How are you?" or even your name.
I could say that I really have no pressing cause
to know or intrude on your time but all the same
we are still two people walking this country lane.
As you pass, I observe you and questions fill my mind
such as why you are walking with a bike and not riding.
We come to the same spot only to pass by and I find
you are gone from my sight and so from my life. Hiding
my questions now, I again wander home only now thinking,
"Safe travels passing stranger. May life be good to you."
