The Photos App

The Photos app asks me

to name you,

and I find it

endearingly funny.

As if you weren’t the one

just outside the frame,

watching me smile

like the whole world didn’t matter.

As if you don’t still take up space

somewhere in my head,

in ways I don’t always notice

until I do.

Making me wonder,

how did I ever function without you?

As if your ghost hasn’t haunted the photos since,

an outline,

a shadow

of days wild and carefree.

But eventually,

our memories blurred together,

and the years left behind

have made me stronger.

So tell me,

who are you now?

Because like these photos,

my memories have also changed.

So I don’t think I can name you,

not right now, or ever.

And I know in my heart

that I simply never want to.