Your Face

They say
You never forget
A face

But then
Why
Can’t I put yours together

I don’t seem to remember
The way your eyebrows
Crinkle together

Or the way your
Mouth collapses
Into a smile

I can’t seem to place
The richness of your skin
Or

The way you throw
Your head back in
Laughter

Why
Can’t I seem to
Remember

You
haunt my dreams,
I know your name but can

No longer recall
That face I once
Loved

I can’t see the slope of your nose
Or the glint of mischief in your eye
Or even the way your hair curled slightly

All I can remember
Is the scar that
I wasn’t fast enough to block

The line from
Ribs to collarbone
The faint red line suddenly

Becoming something
More akin to a gushing river
Of your blood

And I
Couldn’t save you
That’s what haunts me

In my dreams
Even when awake I wonder
Hoping against all

That you live
But knowing
You don’t