Faded Letters

I caught your laugh in a stranger's mouth

On a corner

we used to own

For half a second you were twenty-two

Then the traffic

took you home

I still know the joke that only worked for us

I still don't

tell it right

Your name came back today Not as a wound — as weather

I almost looked you up

Then I let the thought sit down

Your name came back today

You were the one who knew I lied about the job

We never fought.

We never swore we'd write

We just ran out of shared rooms I don't know

if you got out clean

If I dialed, I wouldn't know the voice And you might not

know mine

Your name came back today Not as a wound — as weather

Some friends survive the silence

Some friends become the silence Your name came back today

If I called, we'd spend ten minutes

Catching up on jobs and kids

Then the quiet would arrive So I leave you where you live

A good man in a life I can't picture

Your name came back today Not a signal — just a fact

I almost wrote, then put the pen away That's how the years

keep faith Your name came back

today

I said your name out loud

The kitchen didn't answer

That was enough