Age Old Question

by Susan Zahn

It's funny how people change, ain't it?
If it's for better or for worse, I ain't too sure.
You know me, the devil-may-care-if-he-goes-to-hell type.
And my motto: Give me a safe port, passible I.D.,
a full glass, and a friendly female, lady or not.
Clear skies and the rest be damned.
One flash of my hazel eyes and I've got a bed for the night.
One flick of the hyperdrive toggle and our troubles are left behind.
Well, most of the time, anyway.
But that's what we wanted, right?
That was the life...wasn't it?
Live fast, love hard, die young.
What else was there?

Dark brown eyes, darker than any black hole.
Deeper than the farthest reaches of space.
Now, maybe, I think I know what it means to fall.
I've changed; did you notice?
That gold in my hazel wasn't there before.
Not like now, anyway.
I think maybe--finally--I found that too.
Friends.
Responsibility.
Respect and trust.
Commitment.

I don't know.
What do you think, Chewie?
You think a princess and a guy like me?