Green

The only thing left

connecting you to me

is a small green dot

which sometimes glows

on an outdated photo

of your earnest grin

•

I wonder

do you ever see mine?

And must remind myself

of all the ways I left—

•

How I slid, quaking in your lap

to crying on the floor, when

I realized I couldn’t accept it

anymore, I gathered strength

to walk out your door

A few weeks later, I won an award,

quit my job, moved

to the other side of the world

finally bought

a piano I’ve adored

•

I did it. I got away,

but left my heart behind

in your lap that day

•

If, someday, I return

to walk your street and

see you again, I’d have to ask

what led you astray, or else

I fear, until my dying day,

I will wonder why and how

I was yours to betray

•

Oh, how it feels to be frozen

in time, or just in my mind, falling

from the outside, looking in again

and again, heart in your lap,

the green dot flashes