cheer up, you

Darling,
do you remember that time in Toulouse,
the au lait, pigeons with stump legs and murals arching over our heads?

proper black european jackets then; and you were beautiful and laughing at everything.

or ireland; I remember looking over at you on the train ride to Galway, and I've never seen you so sad / so wanting not to be sad

but i took care of you, and we drank that night and ate spaghetti bolognese, and you fell asleep so peaceful.

do you remember getting off the train in Spain; irritable that you couldn't follow the conversation, despite the cost of your degree? you drank coke and ate a churro, and i know you longed for bed and were impatient with the world.

or: running on that track in the thunderstorm; the rain soaked you through and I peered at the sky, anxious about Zeus and his thunderbolts - you impervious and doubled over with glee

or: today, my breath stopped as you walked so blase into traffic; your big black glasses and seething attitude. you've never looked so sexy.

or: last night, crying because you heard your sick father say "i love you," and he never does, and I know that.

Let me relish the pleasure of holding you tight,
of witnessing your darks, your scintillations, your delightful crinkled eye.
you of good heart, and good womb; a good woman beloved