Nostalgic Souvenirs

By Millie Butler

I have only memories,

frozen from the day you perished.

I cannot accrue any more laughter,

love or warmth with you.

My memory is carefully archived,

selecting only the most significant records.

Sometimes, my due diligence wanes.

Unwarranted,

idiosyncrasies unearth recollections so unexpectedly,

my heart shatters.

Corrosive tears burn my face,

further eroding the chronic time that separates us. 

While a surge of hot energy burns through me, 

depositing in my throat. 

Stranded by my fractured memories,

I puzzle together the debris that washes ashore.

Hyper-fixated on what you said,

what you did,

how I felt,

what you wore.

Failing to remember these minutiae details

splinters the woven fibres in my mind.

But this is all I have

Nostalgic Souvenirs

Misconstrued

Rearranged

Mellowed