So you come from this place
and you're a person I've never met
so how come I can't get your face out of my head -

it lingers like a river of perfume
aromatic and brilliant and impossible to catch -

I can see fragments of moments
in a life blissfully unconscious of anyone
someone
myself
the wind winding through your hair
a coffee-cup you clutched one Monday
all there in blocks of colour -

a smile
static
radiant
something I've seen
but not seen -

I've come to accept this as normal
that gathering a stack of names that glitter like crystals
is perfectly fine
as long as nothing is done
as long as they stay names
as long as no ingredients are sprinkled in
because then people will talk
say freak or creep
and shriek at me -

you only give a hoot about looks
but it's just not true -

but maybe it's best
to avoid a blast of embarrassment
as a cannonball to the chest -

these days compliments are met by a frown
strangers stay strangers -

what is it about making friends that is so tricky
who cares if you’re blonde or brunette
foreign or not
make videos or sing or knit jumpers for fun
what’s wrong with a hello springing up now and then
if a personality shimmers
exudes warmth through a screen -

so no
I don’t know you
may never know you
but forgive me one day if I send a hi there
it’s platonic
it’s short
I hope it’s alright