FIRST LOVE

I remember how it was.
It was dark, there were stars,
The snow was deep,
The cold stabbed like knives.

There was a little house
With a golden window pane
And a square of gold cast on the snow.
It looked warm,

And I lay down on it.
As I was falling asleep,
I remembered someone saying,
A first love is the only love.

I hoped it wasn't true.
There had to be warmth,
Real fire,
Real shadows cast by real people.
It seemed there were,
For a time.

Old age and regret
Can be like cold and snow.

That night,
Next to the small house,
I was given
A small loaf of bread
To last a lifetime.

Today, when I looked,
I counted five small crumbs.