Challenging Poetry

let me remember

for Caleb

let me remember every moment—
every agonizing instant of you.
the feel of your skin,
the way you wouldn’t open your hand
and grasp mine,
the dark down of your hair.
let me remember the chill of the room
and the tubes running from the cap,
chilling your brain.
let me remember the excitement
I felt that you were born,
the pain I felt that you were gone—
like a missing tooth that a tongue
still searches for, like an amputated limb
that still exists behind closed eyes.
time is drawing me away from you,
and I no longer know
the shape of your chin
or the perfection of your toes,
but let me remember the pain
of losing you so soon.
five days was not long enough,
and I am jealous of every eternal hour,
every fleeting day,
every aching memory—
they’re all that’s left for me.

line count 27