The Flower Man Whom I Met Twice

Is this from my favorite movies?

Before Sunrise

Before Sunset

Before Midnight

This is not the movies; this is for real.

Ours is different.

I will not confirm that there was love;

but it can't be denied; he was a gift from the Universe.

First, in Napier;

shortly thereafter in Sydney.

12 years would pass,

neither will ever hear from each other

It took a virus,

a disease,

to get back together.

Not in person,

but as most of us did in 2020,

through a Zoom call.

It happened, and it was surreal.

We talked for hours like it was yesterday,

when he was 20 years old,

when he told me that he would become a doctor.

And today,

he is a doctor, as he promised me just before we said our goodbyes,

just before sunset.

And all I have left of him now is this photo,

My flower man.