The Professor and I

 
There isn’t day that I stop to think of what once was
                       is no more…

I think of the road under the wheels
      The changing landscapes
      The long lonely highways
      The diners you sat in
And how comforting it was that no one recognized you

I can’t begin to fathom the pain
      The heartache you carried in your soul
      But that somewhere on those endless rides
            You found closure and meaning again

I only wish I had been there
      Closer
      To witness it
                  To have seen it
                        To have lived it
                        But I
Still cherish it like pearls of wisdom every day

Here I humbly sit
Reading and listening
      Forever a pupil
Closing my eyes to the mastery and mystery
      Trying to be
            As voracious as how you once were

I only hope that in my journey
      I can pay tribute