Ode to the Nightstand

I expected it to be gone, taken apart and packed away in the back of the Subaru by the time I got home,

but instead, it became one of the only things you told me would be left behind on purpose

now it's a reminder of what once was

one of many, but one that will stay exactly where you left it

it's funny how something that comes apart so easily turns out to be sturdier than we were

maybe it's about the foundation

the four legs you turned tightly into place don't feel insecurity; they won't collapse under the slightest pressure