Unrequited Love

first hope
then joy
then doubt
then pain

more hope
more doubt
less hope
more pain

no hope
just doubt
more pain
just pain

The Professor

by early eve
he'd amble down
in boxer trunks
his cigs in hand

he sat to smoke
before his swim
a pleasant nod
would meet my gaze

and then he swam
a sluggish crawl
a dozen laps
before he quit

a few more cigs
until we closed
a word or two
for all who passed

and in my case
an offer made
a letter sent
to aid my goal

now decades hence
I think of him
his kindness lives
within my soul