Have you ever?
Lenise Collimore

The Moon

Have you ever watched the moon when she’s cut down the middle

Like half eaten, still warm bread with salted butter?

She’s just a glimmer of herself

but still pushes and pulls the tides with a gentle force.

And the stars, scattered like fallen crumbs, stand close by, keeping the night sky afloat

while she waits for fullness to find her again.

Past love

Have you ever thought about a past love when you were feeling soft?

Falling snow, cold on your face

Frozen puddles, cracking underfoot

Your heart jumps and your head remembers those cracks

you tried to haphazardly sew back together.

But you’re not a seamstress

and she doesn’t know how to wear those clothes.

...

Have you ever...

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

Procrastinated?

Read me

Have you ever read something so beautiful you wanted to store it in your heart forever?

Words strung together on pages that are frayed and fading from being turned

Over and over by loved ones who’ve unraveled them in all their different ways

And you sit still

Trying to make sense of those languages you’ve devoured

But never really learnt

Misplaced

Have you ever misplaced something and not realized it was missing until someone said Hey, I haven’t seen that in a while?

Did it fall out of your bag as you rushed to unpack

the heaviness of the day

Or did you leave it in the back of a cupboard

in a house where you no longer live

Discarded by new tenants who were fastidious

but not enough to find its owner

Or did you strong arm it away, thinking it would come back

like an expertly crafted boomerang

But now you’re left wondering if it was a fake?