I still see you,
Despite
(See the end of the work for notes.)
The first year has come and gone.
Always searching, I see you everyday,
In the corner of my eye.
Every stranger is you, until they're not.
And I turn my gaze away, always disappointed.
Oh how great the relief of forgetting,
the Grief of remembrance.
But I would only ever find you in a gravestone.
My dear friend,
A full year has gone by without you on this earth, but every young man with a light and trim beard on the street is you, if only for a second.
I was looking at people filing into the graveyard today and got excited, on instinct, when I thought I spotted you in the crowd, only to remember whose memorial we're attending.
Your memory is a blessing, oh how loved you are.
I miss you.