An old friend

I saw an old friend recently,
and somehow despite the designation
the truth of it caught me like a falling branch,
that in the oaken years between our encounters,
he had grown old.

It’s funny how everything
can stay just about the same, except,
somehow, everything, as he stands there
with the brittle glory of a taxidermy bear, wondering
what has changed.

I might have to admit
that the decade spares none, that I’m
a little older too. Just a little, I say it that way
so it keeps respectful distance, and I’m still standing here
untouched by time.