Surrealistic Forever

Remind me that once upon a time,
I memorized you—your skin, lips,
pulse— were all mine; now ashes
are all that’s left of us.
We were surreal:

Innocence like porcelain,
Hearts of fire.
Silk lips, silk ties on soft skin,
whispers of black and white
in our gilded lives;

Scintillating eyes of lovers rained
sparks into the silence with soft-spoken
caresses and slips of paper wedged
in lockets as we trembled in the darkness
of memory forgotten, erased

from the history books.
We were immortalized as perfect statues,
figurines with wrinkled noses touching softly
as we memorized the breath sounds
and heartbeats that defined us.

Now, we have no definition,
other than silence, simple
fragments, cold skin. Lockets
frozen shut, filled with forgotten
words and deserted love.

So, Darling—

Make me remember
Slow currents and pinpricks
of the fingertips touching softly,
softly burning into our skin,
imprints of our fleeting forever.

Make me remember,
so I can forget, because

Soon, I’ll scatter our ashes,
caught in a crossfire of dust,
surrounded by images of us.
Our crumbling statues will begin to rust;
I’ll rise again. Whole without you.