unlit matches

time travel

i can see my youth
trickle through
your veins.

is it a curse
or a blessing

to see myself
in you?

i cannot describe
the pang
in my chest

when you hum
a song
i used to know
so well.

the neurons
are disconnecting

and i can't name
every character in
that book

we used to love.

hello, little me.
we grew up
much too quick

and now time swirls
around us
in thick
mist.

no more asking
nonsense questions,

like "why is the sky blue?"

or "what makes a bird sing?"

everything has become
painfully practical

and whimsy was discarded
a lifetime ago.

i suppose
since we are older,
we have become
wiser...

but as we stare
back at each other

i find no epiphanies
or words of wonder
to give you.

the only sentence
that escapes
is

"don't let us forget to live."