We walk, hand-in-hand
Through this maze we call
Our City. We were born here,
We lived and loved here. But that
Was a different time, and those
Were different people.
The City brought you to me,
Or was it the other way around?
I cannot remember.
I cannot remember-
The colour of your shirt when I first saw you.
Whether you liked the chocolate or the red-velvet better.
The stories of your Small-Town Father.
The glories of your Uptown Mother.
How you landed your first job at a clinic.
How you saved the life of a kid on the streets.
I do not remember-
How you got my number, with nothing more
Than a first name to go on.
Why you never wanted a pet, why you
Hated that pink dress I wore on Christmas
And insisted on the yellow one instead.
What your first car was, what you looked like
As a teenager, peering at me from old photos.
Who your first girlfriend was and how
She broke your heart.
You did describe your soul to me-
Last summer, by the beach. I remember the evening sky and
The soft touch of dying waves at my feet. Time,
Or something stronger, has taken away your words from me.

So we walk, hand-in-hand. We've reached
The end of the maze. You draw an invisible pattern
Upon my freezing cheek, just to stall my departure.
"Stay," You whisper. You know the answer.
And yet.
You hold me at an arm's distance. You let me go.
Instead of turning around, I hold my ground.
The setting sun is high above us
And in-between us,
At the same time. We stand, and in that endless minute.
You are my mirror.

Am I yours?

Shall I reach out and break you?
Will I remember then?
Or will we break each other-
And forget altogether-
Forever?

Don't tell me. Don't tell me.

The minute passes. We break apart.
I feel lighter than I should be.
In that moment you had turned to dust-
Who you were, why you were-
And how you came to be.
You gave shape to the blanks in my mind.
You made me see.

You were.
You are.
You will be.

That's all we'll ever need.