Preparation
02/05/20
I’d be so prepared if I knew.
I have a few books in mind that I’d pack,
More for our day spent browsing dusty stalls
for tattered editions
than for their contents.
I’d carefully tuck all the flowers and leaves
you brought me from the South
in my diary,
And watch their colour fade over these lonely weeks;
I wanted to be there for them
as they melted into the pages,
trading their scent for the joy of memory.
I’d be so prepared if I’d known.
I would leave behind
the collection of Dylan’s verses;
I’d urge you to sing me the songs each night,
like you promised you would.
I wish I’d kissed you
a million more times,
Ran my hand across your cheek
a bit longer;
Don’t misunderstand me,
the memory of your skin
is still fresh in my mind;
I only regret that I did those things
lesser than I could’ve if I’d known.
I’d have left you some mementos myself-
Kisses wrapped in velveteen assurance
of my eternal love;
A few more silly jokes
to make you laugh on your low days;
Some poems scribbled into your notebook.
I’d leave so well prepared if I’d known.
The separation would be just as painful,
But at least I’d have had the mind
to hold you closer and longer than ever,
and kiss you deeper than before.
_
Poem - @shreyasalaria