A backwards glance
How did it even begin
Love?
A dream
sleight of hand
The moment you locked eyes
& I said yes
Packed my possessions
followed the dreamer
lost my storyline
How, then, did our game of Jenga collapse?
One moment,
after another moment
I was
remembering to take out something to thaw in the morning,
mending tears and removing stains
life overflowing
forgot to pack our love during that new hustle, new city
And how will it finally, end?
As you lay out the tapestry of a life,
memory,
by memory
choice,
by choice
a library full of snapshots
until finally,
the quiet settles
the house is empty
Was it a good life?
And how did you reckon and tally the terror,
the violence, the leavings,
the relentless new dream,
& I held the steady attention to each day’s tasks
until there was no morning to rise for.