Peter Milner

Song

I heard them 

late, but not so late

down there

down below

four, five voices

young men

singing in the street

a verse or two

some song I didn’t know

their song

sung soft

a song between them

singing slow

respecting its beauty

the parting of friends

echoes at least

of time spent familiar

but now it’s time to go

on separate journeys

yet they linger

find this song to mark their parting

with a verse or two

down there between the gardens 

and the parked cars

under street lamps

before the junction of the roads

where paths diverge 

the song shared

then on they go

some sweet sentiment

lodged in each

carried between them

in ears, on lips

patterned into memory

the moment's anthem

tender in the soul