Trail Mates

Telling him was unnecessary.
He knew.
We both knew.

Human eyes communicate
In ways impossible
With other creatures.

He smiled softly
Then turned his head.

It’s hard for men sometimes.

I love this man
Who sometimes angers me
But usually delights me.

We spoke of another time.
We would be trail mates
Whose conversations sometimes lag.
One of us may even lead the other
By as much as a mile
But we never lost sight of the other.

We would share the campfire
Look into the face of the same stars
And complain about the grounds
In the coffee
The next morning.

But we are not trail mates.
He carries a star in his wallet
And I carry a badge in mine.

Our eyes and bodies are aging.
We have both seen too much
Of the same heartbreak.

We have each other's back.
We can laugh together
But we cry separately.
One mile ahead.

He is my friend.
And we are trail mates.