To Forgive and Remember

And I asked you
to forgive me
for staring so
because the truth was
you overwhelmed me
in so many ways

For in your smile
in your eyes
in your touch without touch
I find so much

I find echoes of another
remnants of that shimmer
in the corner of my eyes
hiding at certain angles in your shadow
Yet how could I mistake you
when you cut the air so differently
when your shine is strange

And I asked
you’d forgive
That words sometimes don’t come to me
or they take too long to form
Because sometimes
everything shuts off
to just take the time
to take you in
to remember as much of you as I can
for my heart to pine for in the quiet

And I tell you
of an old memory
flickers of an old fire
that I used to bundle around

When I thought there was only dark
When I thought it was the only warmth I had
I’d ever have
And fear gnawed
to keep my eyes on it
to keep feeding it
because I did not know what would happen
if it went out

I’d forgotten that the sun would rise
And one day
I just walked away
and there you were

And I forgive you
for taking your time to get here
for all that matters
is that you’re here now

A Poem by Colm Horgan