Dream Collaboration

She knows, of course,
it’s why she’s allowed me here
this intimate task of parting,
of packing up your things,
why we smile easily
between hidden glances

so this is her

We’ve known each other
forever, of course,
wondered enough to troll,
but we’re like minds and hearts
as well, why else
would you have loved us both?
I don’t tell her I saw you
a shadow, a whisper
in her room,
that your smile
was in gratitude
for the kindnesses
here now, and then,
when I held tight your
sorrows and secrets.

Instead, we just laugh
at your photographs,
agree to keep the tape
in the top drawer
to put things back together
after I leave.

IMAGE by Lucas Mota. Poem ©2023, Jen Payne. If you like this poem, you can read similar in my books and zines, available from Three Chairs Publishing on my ETSY SHOP. They come autographed, with gratitude and a small gift.