An illustration for my poem "Obliviosa":

I forgot a face today
Put a man into a grave
Forgot the taste of his name
In my heart and in my brain

Forgot the when, forgot the where
Forgot that he ever was there
Forgot the questions he never asked
The words never spoken, never passed

Relief gushed through my breast at once
I stood up, straight, no cut, no bruise
I breathed, unburdened, for reasons unknown
Then out through the door, to walk in my shoes

But then, alas, I opened my eyes
Fused with the bed, facing the wall
The man’s still nested in my chest
He never left, no, not at all

(May 2019)