Waiting for What and When

 

 

Soon, a day will come

when I will look in the mirror and not know who I am

not recall how I got that scar above my eye

stare at photos, unable to place names on faces

 

Already, I am opening drawers filled with keys to

locked doors in buildings that have been demolished

 

Daily, I pass structures haunted by long kisses from

lovers whose lips have long abandoned me

 

Today, I pulled the cord on the bus, stood up

stood   out   standing   still   like a stilled life

and  did  not  think   at all

 

I smiled, charmingly

they like me more when I smile

Published 2018, Vallum, Memory and Loss issue, Vol. 15:1