see you later

a poem

crazy how

you can tell someone: “see you later”

then *actually* see them

later.

meeting again

holds death a little further away every time,

so much further

in fact,

we forget it could happen at

any given time, and that

any given time could be

sooner than later.

we take it for granted that we’re

meeting again

and still

every encounter is bigger than

just showing up for a shared plan

or keeping your word. it means that

on top of that promise we made

in passing,

we both survived,

against all odds, the unpredictable

space between now and then.

that’s the kind of small miracle

we tend to miss while we wait

for a bigger, shinier one

but what a miraculous thing,

that as I walk down the street,

I see you waiting for me

on that bench,

just like you said you would

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