I need photographs of you to remember
the way you smiled at me
moments that cannot be re-
drawn with crayons
or pounded into the present
with frustrated shrieks.
I have a string.
It is a thread of grey
long and trailing behind over
the horizon; I am walking
on a highway back
somewhere
where has that place gone?
If I follow the thread back,
will I find you there?
Or, are memories scaled in shades
of black and white
fluttering like a bird’s heart?
I don’t really need the photographs
to remember; it is that I
wish to flesh out memory until
you are standing before me
a reflection of who I am
and so spectacularly,
who you are
and tip-toe up to kiss you
gently, breathing life
into your eyes that
was gone
to see you smile.
In Due Proportion 