It’s been a long time
since we spoke.
What a joke.
Me with my knickers
in a twist and
your “If you insist…”
and nothing getting settled
but the puppy on the couch.

You’re gone now
and I remain behind
in our correspondence.
You know I will always
remember our better
times while forgetting
the worst.

At first I was sure you
would rise up and return,
for that I always yearned.
But even if you never do,
I’ll always feel that I am you.

How could I not be the same
when I still write your legal name?
You are the part of me that rose
while I stayed below,
who really knows?

Not knowing if you love me, too.
I still keep on just loving you.
And when the key turns in the door
I lie down and love some more.
Darkness round me like a shawl,
I never feel you left at all.

Vicki Woodyard