imagine
you’re wearing glasses
all the time

even in dreams
they’re still on

they fog up
and she’s there—
always there

every breath i take
is hers too

everything i say
to anyone
floats forward like smoke
passing through her body
first

because
she never leaves me
and when i walk the river
she’s there

i can’t unsee her

her smile
her laugh
the warmth of her
the small of her back
her tiny evils
and the small triumphs
she allows herself—

and what a vision
she is

loving her is effortless
and without need for determination
i hold even her flaws
dear—

for she’s followed me
around this world blindly

and every moment
of every day
since we met—
across the table

—

has been through warm
brown-tinted
lenses