KEEPSAKE

I FOUND IT TODAY.

IT WAS JUST...  THERE.

AND I HELD IT CLOSE.

KEPT IT IN MY POCKET.

SUCH A SIMPLE THING, REALLY.

BUT DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU HAD INSCRIBED ON THE BACK FOR ME?

LOVE.  ALWAYS AND FOREVER.

MAYBE IN OUR NEXT LIVES.

EYES TELL ALL

SARAH FLIPS THROUGH AN OLD PHOTO ALBUM AND PAUSES
ON A PICTURE OF YOU AND I.

SHE SIGHS AND SAYS;
"I WISH I COULD'VE KNOWN YOU BACK THEN.  YOU KNOW, BEFORE-"

AND I THINK, I THINK, I KNOW WHAT SHE IS GOING TO SAY.  BEFORE
YOU DIED, BEFORE MY WORLD CAME TUMBLING DOWN.

BUT I WAS WRONG.

SARAH SAYS, "BEFORE THE LIGHT IN YOUR EYES FADED."

SHE TRACES MY EYES IN THE PICTURE AND LOOKS AT ME SADLY.

I GUESS I JUST NEVER REALIZED YOU COULD TELL I WAS BROKEN
JUST BY LOOKING AT ME.

THE PERFECT DAY

REMEMBER WHEN WE DROVE TO THAT EMPTY FIELD
AND MADE LOVE ON AN OLD BLANKET?

WE LAY THERE
BARE-
EXPOSED TO EACH OTHER,
TO THE ELEMENTS,
AND YOU REACHED OVER TO GRAB MY HAND
QUIETLY SLIPPING A RING ON MY FINGER
AND WHISPERING:

"forever, sweet girl?"

THAT, WAS THE PERFECT DAY.

FROM HIM TO ME

YOUR MOTHER FOUND A BOX IN YOUR OLD ROOM

WITH MY NAME ON IT.

INSIDE- 

BITS AND PIECES OF OUR LIFE TOGETHER.

OUR LOVE,

OUR JOY,

AND A POEM YOU WROTE THAT YOU NEVER GAVE ME...

"we embrace

like the first two pieces of 

a jigsaw puzzle

whose arms and legs it seem 

reach into one another

and interlock so

that there is not even the tiniest breath of space

that would make you doubt it was me

and not one of the other 498

who compliment you so

and make sense of your shapes and colors"

DO YOU SEE?

 NOW, MY WORLD IS SENSELESS.

WINTER

WE USED TO TAKE LONG WALKS

TO WATCH THE SNOW FALL EACH MORNING

AND THE STARS FALL EACH NIGHT.

BUT WITHOUT YOU-

I AM MUCH TOO TIRED TO WALK HALFWAY THERE EACH MORNING,

OR TAKE THE LONG ROAD HOME EACH NIGHT.

FALL AND FADE

YOU ARE WITH ME

ALWAYS.

YOU ARE WITH ME

AND I AM WITHOUT.

-FALL AND FADE-

FALL AND FADE

TO BLACK.

I HATE THEM-

WANT TO HATE THEM:

THE HAPPY COUPLES,

THE ROMANTIC MOVIES,

LONG WALKS,

STOLEN KISSES,

SEPARATION.

I BURN THE WORDS.

BURN THEM ALL.  BURN

UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT

BUT AIR AND ASH.

BOTH WILL FALL AND FADE

WITH ME.

THE WRITING ON THE WALL

I WROTE YOUR NAME IN THE CLOUDS,

BUT THE SUN CLEARED IT AWAY.

I WROTE YOUR NAME IN THE SAND,

BUT THE TIDE CARRIED IT TO SEA.

I WROTE YOUR NAME IN MY HEART

WHERE IT WILL STAY

FOREVER.

THE END

YOU ONCE ASKED ME HOW IT ALL ENDS.

YOU PONDER THE INEVITABLE.

I'VE LIVED IT.

I TELL YOU IT ENDS WITH GOODBYE, OF COURSE.

A LITTLE WHITE LIE. A GIFT OF HOPE.

OR MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, IT ENDS WITH BEAUTY.
NOT WITH A WHIMPER BUT WITH A BANG

PERHAPS, WITH A SIMPLE DREAM.  PERHAPS?

GOODNIGHT, SWEET GIRL.

SCHEDULING ERROR

MOST DAYS I MANAGE

TO KEEP MYSELF BUSY,

TO NOT THINK TOO MUCH.

BUT TODAY I MISS THE WAY YOU KISSED ME

TOUCHED ME

 LOVED ME.

CHANGES

YOU CHANGED ME, YOU KNOW?

GAVE ME NEW WORDS WITH EACH TOUCH.

AND I KNOW,

I KNOW-

THAT THERE IS STILL A PLACE WHERE I WILL ALWAYS BE YOURS.

WHERE EVERYTHING IS FELICITY

AND ECSTASY

AND ELABORATELY

OURS.