Lily Dam Poet Free verse

Your Toast

i stand by the toaster
waiting for your other half to come up
i'll set your slice and half melted butter down
and hope that today you'll eat it

morning drags on with no one else there
the buzzing tv show you'd always watch falls silent now
hands dipped in flour wiping away your sniffles
i wish i could still find some sitting by the sink

every morning i repeat
toasting, waiting
watching, waiting
cooking, waiting

every night i close my eyes knowing
i'm forgetting one more piece of you today
and whoever you were yesterday isn't who i remember you as today

your laughter is a little quieter
your smile a little blurred around the edges
i forget your little fidgeting at the table
and how many times you told me you loved me

i still remember our routine though
at least i have that, right?
i'll just wait until you sit down at the table
make a face at me and repeat your line all over
"you burnt it again"

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Triny Xiang May 17, 2023 at 7:03 AM Such playful meditation on loss and memory. I often wonder where the people who have left stay. Perhaps loss distills their presence from nostalgia into something purer. Your poetry is more than simple, it's closer to essential. Wonderfully said. Lily Dam May 17, 2023 at 7:43 AM Thank you!! I feel like the hardest part to come to terms with is someone's absence in everyday life, and it seems to be the part people forget about the most.