Sunday, December 18, 2022

come to think of it

Every place I have ever been is with me

A kind of memory map of my personal geography

Revisited in odd moments in no particular order

Inner experiences etched into my identity


Nothing exists now as I remember it

Any more than time stands still

And yet this ongoing assemblage of images

Appears in the present like a waking dream


I listen to you tell stories of your life

In Detroit Warren Philadelphia Oswego

Before our time lines crossed in New York

Though Detroit is part of me too


Even though I was not there with you then

I become an observer hearing what you say

Feeling your feelings the good and the bad

Knowing that much of what happened to you


As you have heard from me over time

A mixture of painful and pleasant recollections

But come to think of it that has changed

And I think it’s because of you


All bad thoughts seemingly vanished

Somehow without my conscious effort

Any negative associations disappeared

From the landscape of my ruminations


It happened by itself as it were

After many years being together with you

Influenced by the easy way we get along

Enjoying the life we have