Photograph by Dheny Patungka


When a friend asked me
If I missed you
I didn’t know what to say
Or how to explain
The murky depths of missing
How I search the hollows
Of the night for you
Trying to pull you back to clarity
To find your entity
Your expression
Your being
And how the fear of losing you
Once more from memory
Is what can break my heart
I stretch into the caverns
Of my mind
I strain my inner sight
To raise you up
To summon you
But only do I get a glimpse
A suggestion of your face
A trace of what you were
And I cannot sleep for failure
Of my recollection
And when my friend asks me
If I miss you
I want to tell him
How I leave my bed
Saddened that I need to do this
Once again
And hold your photograph
Your paper soul
Before my eyes
Imprinting
Imprinting
Imprinting
So tomorrow night
You will not slip away



Sara Mathews     August 2017