in my dream last night you were there

it had been so long i didn’t recognize you but you knew me

we talked for a while

you a stranger, treating me as a friend, a lover, a confidant

as you walked away i awoke

staggered to the toilet and as i stood, leaning against the wall, listening to the splash

i remembered who you were

it has been twenty some years since i saw you

nearly the same since i thought of you

one night in the bar, i was doing shots with the guys and i looked across the crowded room and saw you looking at me

neither of us smiled

i hurriedly looked away

when i got the courage to look up again you were no longer there

i didn’t know if you ever were, or if i imagined it

that was the last time i thought of you

but last night you told me about your life and even though i didn’t remember your name or face i listened and felt a peace

as i fell back into bed, your name on my lips, i sought to see you again

to apologize for forgetting

but you didn’t appear again until i woke back up this morning

like that night so long ago

i wondered if you were really there

i said there would always be a place for you in my heart when you left

i didn’t lie

just boarded it up and put the do not disturb sign on a nail half hammered into the wood

i like to think it is a happy place in that sealed tomb somewhere by my aorta

but i am going to leave it alone

next time i will call you by name and we can chat properly

until then

live well, see you in a dream