A poem

You’ve been gone so long but still

The taste lingers on my tongue

Your warmth and your scent brush against my arm and I feel the goosebumps hide themselves in shame

But you’re not here anymore and I’m allowing myself to love again

I’ll take the lessons you’ve taught me and I will grow out of the pain you printed in the concrete

I will smile when he smiles and love when he tells me I can

When he says he will do right by me I will give him the benefit of the doubt and pretend I don’t believe in the possibility of dishonesty