I no longer remember
the sighs when we made love,
the tears afterward,
cars squealing in the street
scattering pedestrians like insects,

nor do I remember
when you told me how lucky we were
to be living in a time like this,
in a place where sunshine drips
from broken faucets, never ending
like the hip hop track you can’t forget,

nor the time I neglected to turn off
the heat, another sin wasted
when I could have done much better,
saved the last slice of bread
for that day we were so hungry
I wore my raincoat to the grocery store
filling its threadbare pockets
with promises I’d never keep,

and I’ve forgotten the night you told me
how shadows weave dark wings,
how we can listen to murmurs of stars
and recover them all
from the relentless furnace of creation,

and I’ll never recall those times
our words failed, evaporating
like the steam we breathed.