Ode to Mandy

I met Mandy in sixth grade math classat Chisholm Trail Middle SchoolTalented and Gifted we were, and areThat was twenty years agoI remember her 12th birthday slumber partyLight as a feather stiff as a boardShe introduced me to Ani DifrancoShe won tickets from a radio stationAnd took me to my first concertWilco at Liberty Lunch on 2nd Streetin freaky, grown-up downtown AustinWe took ill-advised road trips in collegeOnce we drove nonstop to Miami to take a cruiseThrough thunderstorms and exhaustionOnce we got three flat tires in a row on the way to Normal, Illinoisto see our hero AniMandy is statuesque with gorgeous Grecian and Italian featuresI forget sometimes how long I've known herAs fun as it is to live abroad and meet new people all the timeThere is immense value to the comfort of old friendsMandy and me go way backHere I sit on her couch in her stylish Victorian in San FranciscoI know we'll go way forward, despite geographical separationAnd for that I am grateful