i remember her face

i remember her face (we were all still wearing masks at that point)

her name meant a beloved character 

a smile with eyes and playful dialogue 

and after the coda i sometimes still hear her – 

i know she has grown far past it now, 

into an unfamiliar silhouette, 

yet, her eyes, abiding, reveal times of us bygones 

and her voice, the same timbre, plays foreign phrases –

at her new, top school she irons them straight 

so forget me! my blushing hands weaving our fate into her braids –

it’s been long since i’d known her – long since i’d slept without

dreams of that faraway grace 

who touches the earth 

light as cat-steps.