Memorizing Photographs

Some nights, before I go to sleep

I look at pictures of you.

I stare at the you I knew

And try to memorize the way you looked then.

I try and commit to memory the curve of your ear

And the slope of your nose.

I try to concentrate and remember the way your eyes looked

And the way you smiled.

Because I know when I close my eyes

It’s your face I’ll want to see there.

But you’ve been gone so long

I’m starting to forget.

So tonight, and tomorrow night, and all the nights to come

I will stare at these pictures of you

And try to remember the way I felt.

The way, when I was with you, I felt okay.