March, 23, 2023

Yesterday, in run-down Budapest
we strolled through the crowded streets,
the usual landscape with colourless shapes,
suddenly, for two seconds
she linked her arm with mine;
fortunately, she realized its awkwardness;
As she touched me,
I felt the softness of her jacket's fabric,
It woke me up.
then we got on the tram at Mechwart park's stop,
I tried to talk,
Our chat covered the weather and her job,
air tainted by poisoned moments;
Her eyes betrayed exhaustion,
none of us mentioned the impending separation.
the butterflies, which were once so dear to us have perished;
like so many other things
like all our life
pitiable attempts to discuss ourselves;
it would have been a dais of absurdity.
Eventually, these years will be condensed
into a tiny crate in the vastness of time.
We just walked 
sat down on a pub's patio,
I ordered two drinks --------
(an IPA for me and a blueberry wheat beer for her).
She had a fondness for that beverage,
We conversed to avoid the discomfort of silence
her new eyeglasses were the topic of discussion.
I choked back a howl
that hid behind my unrelenting pain;
we both knew She must remain in this city
while I would have to leave.
The grief in her eyes were stroke me without saying anything;
while the adorable breeze of March
mixed with birds singing.
Preserving these jiffies would be important
because they have something about us
that cannot fade away until I vanish.