You remembered all the things I promised
like they were a sure thing
and I was a line
extending straight and narrow
forever in either direction
Cupping the compassion I cried
from leaky eyes,
though it dripped down my cheeks
and it might have all been a lie,
it flooded the distance between us
we spent so much time
trying to close,
fighting a losing battle with
sharp toothpick knives
force that gripped me at the neck,
and said, look, this is
where you’ll die,
this is everything you can’t outrun
and everyone you ever had the
nerve to say you despised,
this is where you were born and
this is the boy who hurt you worse
then anyone before or after,
because he was the first,
but not the last
because we never stop working
to combine all of
our pros and
abolish the cons that the freedom
of individuality allowed to let thrive,
all the times you looked me in the eye
and called me something
you wanted to keep,
but you were sweating like you
had a fever or someone forgot to
turn off the heat,
maybe imagining yourself
misplacing me,
walking aimless circles
around the days you’ll never
get back, just as permanent
a loss as
the scars on the soles
of your well worn
baby feet.