In the salty breeze of August
Like the crunch of lonely leaves underfoot
You startled me with your familiarity
Shattered the blissful bubble where I lived stifled searching
In the lingering scent of yesterday’s breath
Like dewdrops on glistening windows
You stayed always there even as I buried myself in blankets forgot you just a little just enough
That when I remembered again it hurt so hard and so good
It was like seeing hearing holding you again for the first time
In wet grass and warm hands words slipping through sidewalk cracks
Like a hummingbird kisses a flower only to dash away as if never there before
I hid guarded stood my ground but somehow somewhere
You slipped through my grasp and fell into the heavy cloying darkness
Unexplored messy ugly secrets torn to shreds and shoved underneath the bed
You swept my broken pieces into the light
Some you stepped on stomped on to reach for the parts you wanted needed
I held the door open with raw fingers and trampled hurts
For moments you exploded my world with heavenly white sunshine
For hours I sat in black reaching to plastic stars glowing with empty promises
For days blindfolded I fought your monster’s heart on my tattered sleeve
I’m lost freed hurt loved changed forever.
Ally Han ’16