Before; After.
She was Before.
She was the perfect,
Pink flower buds of innocence.
She was all that was new.
She was all that was gold.
She was all that was dawn.
She was every smile that ever
Whispered on your lips;
Every song that ever
Rocked you to sleep,
Every heart that ever beat.
She was rhythm, rhyme.
She was a chirping robin in the spring,
She was a newly fallen leaf in autumn,
She was the happy snowfall in winter,
She was the purple sunsets in the summer.
She was everything that ever
Gave joy, or a simple, happy thought.
She was a bright new morning,
She was a wish upon a star,
She was Before.
Before.
He was After.
He was the flawed,
Interrupted, corrupted,
Reality of adolescence.
He was all that was real.
He was all that was raw.
He was all that was hurt.
He was every slap that ever
Hit your shaking face;
Ever insult that ever
Pierced your ears,
Every challenge that ever
Brought you crumbling.
He was confusion, discord.
He was a crying thunderstorm in the spring,
He was a blustering wind autumn,
He was a cold blizzard in the winter,
He was a retched heat wave in the summer.
He was everything that ever
Made you feel, or made you think, or re-think.
He was the moon on a dark night,
He was a risk you may have taken,
He was After.
After.
So Before and After danced,
Each finding a partner in the other:
A wild love affair of passion and heart.
But it would end in tragedy: this they knew.
She was Before. He was After.
They could only be two sides of the same coin,
Never quite touching or seeing the other.
A love like theirs was doomed and done:
She was Before. He was After.
Before; After.