Your memory is a movie
I like to watch in reverse.
I watch the pieces pulling together
returning the smiles we have lost.
And mouths moving —
no words —
I fill in the blanks to match.
It gives us a whole new life.

You say your name.
A few seconds and I do the same.
Farther and farther
to the beginning we go.
I close my eyes.
Hello.
And it’s over.
With a much better word
than good-bye.