i saved a photo to my phone
i wasn’t thinking
just knew, by instinct,
how funny you’d find it
couldn’t wait to pull it up
thumbprints racing to write your name
like they’re still allowed to
write your name
then, like a snap,
rubber band stretched an atom too far,
history caught up to me
reminded me i don’t get to
send you funny pictures
reach for your name without thinking
i need to let go of phantom hopes
let the words we invented
become the lost language
they’re trying to be
so i’ve got this photo saved in my phone
in another life, it’d have made you laugh
but, in this life, today,
it allowed your absence
to flood the room.
michael king 