Swept Away

Who are you now
but a reference point,
the north star in a faded sky,

a sunspot, a freckle.
Dots connected in our minds
really remain unrequited.

Lights left low lead
past the reconciled.
Children quiver in ecstasy,

a remembrance of the climax
that changed them from knobby kneed onlookers
to the aging populace that bore us.

Your freckles formed designs
I can’t remember. Except one that
we shared on our lips. I shaved it off.

It swelled. Now, it’s hardly there,
and I miss it
because I thought it distinguished

me from the others,
like it did you. I changed.
You became a point

fixed in memory
that I’ll recall while retracing
the breadcrumb constellation.

In my mind, I formed a path.
In yours, a mess. I’m easily
swept away.