Ghosts

I wandered through the campus
Where I first learned your name
When I saw your smile framed
By locks of chestnut brown.
They tore the old barn down
Where I used to wait
To pick you up
After anthropology class,

And the old tile floors
Of the old science building
Where I spent the years
Studying plant anatomy
And the works of Schultes
And the words of Jethro Tull,
Have been replaced
With empty space,
Nothing left
But a memory
Like a ghost
Hovering above
An evenly mowed lawn...

A brand new gymnasium
Stands atop the field
And the path that once
Was deeply worn
When I wore
The mortar board
Through the center of it all,
Strolling down the aisle
Where they placed the hood
Across my proud broad shoulders
(When you still professed to love me)

But just like that,
So much now gone,
The summer break
Came and went
Slipping away
Like the autumn breeze
Carrying the scent
Of your perfume
(And you)
With it.