Katrina Kaye

Forever might last
only a matter of seconds
in the right hands.

It might last a night
of shadow and fog and
a chill in the air.

Forever is the five years
we spent pushing and
pulling together.

From the moment you found
your place at my side
to the last night you laid beside me.

So heavy, so still.
The weight of the world
pinning you to mattress.

The rise and fall of your body
a tender reminder
that this is forever.

And I am afraid of forever,
the commitment to sun and earth,
the permanence of it;

the way it does not negotiate
or offer resolve.
The curse of continuance.

Forever we hold our flags,
white and half mast
howling to a moon

that ceases to be despite how
we know it will forever
be there.

“Forever” is previously published by The Wild Word (2024).