Ethereal

Somehow I knew you before

in a cottage;

in tepid water;

in the absence,

waiting in

songs,

stories,

my own prayers,

and in dreams detailing

small snippets of the to-be

like clippings of newspaper.

I thought I’d lost you,

and I waded through hail

and quicksand,

trying to dig deeper,

but I hadn’t met you yet,

so when I started to remember

these sounds

sleeping in my mind

I knew I had to trek back.

Your voice plays,

like a record long saved, tucked away,

playing as it did the very first time;

each touch, a step

to a dance I always loved

but convinced myself I’d forgotten;

your smile, a comfort lost in childhood

somewhere,

a sun shining in my memories,

and I knew I recognized it.

You had to be ethereal.