After the Symphony's End

After the Symphony's end, we bid your parents farewell,

I thanked them aloud for the nice meal; I thanked them in silence for you.

We wished them a safe journey and waved one last time

Then turned down a different path.

After the Symphony's end, we took you tuba back to Presser

Then stepped again into the chilly October night.

The stars in the blue-black canopy above were beautiful.

The night was quiet, like the silence at the close of one of Mozart's horn concertos.

I didn't want it to end.

After the Symphony's end, you walked me back to my dorm,

And there we stood, like idiots, in the cold. Soon I remembered my roommate's absence,

So I invited you in to talk, without interruption, until visitation hours came to a close.

After the Symphony's end Nothing seemed to escape our roaming conversation.

Every subject imaginable came up; Christmas trees with model trains,

Favorite musicals, airplanes, and roller coasters. I looked into your enigmatic blue eyes,

So like the depths of a coral reef, And I couldn't look away.

After the Symphony's end your watched beeped the hour once, and then again.

I don't think we ever heard it, or if we did, we chose to ignore it.

My neighbors walked by the open door, repeatedly casting sly, smirking glances toward us.

Somehow I knew they would grill me later.

After the Symphony's end, the weary wonderful night was closing.

We both apologized for yawning, insisting that it wasn't the company that caused them.

To my delight, you draped you arm across my shoulders.

Before that moment we'd hardly touched. you seemed almost nervous about it,

But I felt so relaxed and at peace to sit thus in silence After the Symphony's end.

By Laura Buscher~10/20/96