i just hope

that at some point in your life

when the noise finally quiets
when there is no one left to distract you

you close your eyes

and the first thing that rises from the dark

is me

not gently
not sweetly

but suddenly

my face
uninvited

my voice
echoing in a room you thought you emptied

my laugh
the one you once said you liked
now sounding distant
almost unreal

and then

just then

a sigh escapes your lips

not from peace

but from the weight of memory

from the realization
that some things were real
and you let them slip

i hope the mystery of my hand in yours
returns to you

not as comfort

but as a question

the warmth of it
the way our fingers fit
the way you held onto my hips
as if i was something fragile
and necessary

i hope that image wanders in your mind

and refuses to leave

the same way it wandered in mine

for nights that stretched too long

for mornings that felt empty

for days when i replayed
every second

trying to understand
where it broke

i hope one day
you remember

how i looked at you

like you were certainty

how i loved you

without defense

without calculation

and maybe

just maybe

it will hurt

not because you miss me

but because you will finally understand

what you had

and what you let become

a memory

the way it became one for me

too soon