The hostility flings her back
through time
and makes her smile

she almost feels
the need
to apologize
for the confusion

She remembers

he pulled her close
smiled into her hair
laughed low and gentle
because I love
question
conspiratorial whisper
against her cheek

she leaned into
the inclusion
eager to be
proven
known

his eyes met hers
and he said
she can’t remember why he said
the context
lost
but she remembers
being enthralled
held
in anticipation of his voice
delighted
moments like this
perfect moments
possible
even after all the years
between them
possible
still
to close the distance
with words

and so it was
into
this ache of hers
this yearning
because I love
what occasioned
the words
question
conspiratorial whisper
he spoke

of the way she stood
always
feet angled out
adorably awkward
like a duck

she tucked her head against his chest
looked down through the embrace
at her feet
tightly parallel
to one another
always

she wondered
who
stood angled
in his thoughts

in
unknown
silence
she
carried
on
in the distance

until
thinking to anger
a grown daughter rages
heaves incoherence
into the chasm

you’re not the only one who lives in my head

she laughs
until she cries
pulls her daughter’s
frustrated
bewilderment
close
whispers against her hair
all that is lost

because I love

.