“Is it okay?”
I bury my head into my arms and try to remember of the last time you were close enough for me to pick out the flecks of emerald and azure in your eyes that were woven out of amber, they were strings of gems borne of the ocean that wound around my ankles and summoned me to the depths of your bright laughter and soft-spoken words, it was the freshly ground cinnamon and the salty spray of the sea and the newly mown grass, it was all of these things and more, you sang me lullabies with the quick riddles from that enigmatic mind of yours and i could never answer any of your questions, you, the only person who has ever puzzled me, you sprung out of my reach like a butterfly in late autumn, I saw your fleeting smile and you were too far gone, I tried to span two continents and a half and an entire ocean but my arms were not long enough, instead I sent you messages of my tired days and tired months and tired years, you always listened more than you should have, that summer plays in my mind like a record I will never be able to afford to throw away.
Someone asks me if there is anyone I miss, there is a gap in my memory where I tried to wash you out, you still haunt me.