0012 Remembering And Being Reminded Poem by Michael Shepherd

‘Did you remember to tidy up that room of yours
this morning – or do you need reminding? …’

that gap between remembering and being reminded
pursues our childhood and right through our life

as if there are two compartments in our brain
joined by the snaky sliding metal walkway

between two railway carriages at top speed,
the air, the ground, our life, flashing by

how close they are, how far apart,
what parts them in the living heart?

as, how can I ever forget you, all the life
we lived together, every little movement

of your eyes, your body, yes, your mind,
your eyes on me, the day

you looked at me, then looked away…
yes, I remember you, in every little thing

- then on the crowded street, before
some fancy high-priced fashion store,

some woman passes, with a dash
of Worth’s ‘Je reviens’ – and like a flash

I’m some old heart, some long ago to now heart, reminded that
I get along without you very well,

of course I do… except when all the scents of you
become our song, and you are you…

and behind, the memory
of whom I like to live and be,

and the sharper, true, intense
reminder of my truer sense.