remember when she was still little?
remember her room and her toys
that doll she never left home without
do you remember its name?
remember when she jumped in your bed night after night
remember when she screamed in her sleep
remember how her nightmares made her too scared to move
do you remember what she dreamt about?
think of her first day of school
remember walking her to the bus stop
her bouncing with excitement
don't remember her this way.
remember anything but this day.
don't remember how her shoulders shook as you tried to hold her
don't remember her screams
don't remember how she didn't need nightmares to keep her awake anymore
please don't remember the note you found on the carpet
or the window cracked open
please
because even though she couldn't remember her dolls or her curls or how she danced when she got excited
you have to
you have to remember her laugh
you have to remember when she was happy
her mind stole all she remembered about love
about stillness
but you can't
please.
remember her.