remember how water held part
of the evening sun?
where was it we went that day?
the moon was rising, ringed in rose--
i would have stayed with you forever
if you hadn't turned away

where the paths were chalky pebbles
set with stepping stones--
but you stopped suddenly
among the settling leaves,
standing hushed, reverent
beneath the curtains of the coming night

then resolutely walked away
without looking back
utterly unaware of the shadows
falling on your life...
a knight walking away from the holy grail

now you resemble a husk of armor
with gray bones of memory inside
you have forgotten me and everything
forgotten what you told me

that day when all our fires
went out for the last time.

now the slightest wind
could blow me to pieces
blow me into a scrap of a smile,
a shred of a has-been girl,
a remnant of a knight's ribbon
held by water,

like part of the evening sun