you call my name and my heart stops
before racing double time
a rhythm beating in my chest
in response to your voice

i hear phantom words
your phantom laugh
the phantom feeling of your fingers on mine
as you grab my hand
and we laugh together at you smacking me in the face
inadvertently

your hair dances in the wind
and i want to run my hands through it
we compare lengths
and i tease you, tell you mine is better
and you agree

you crack an unfunny joke and i laugh
because everything you say sounds funny to me
as if you’ve taken up residence
between my ribs
and are tickling them with your very existence

your shirt is open at the collar
and your neck calls to my lips
the impulse to trace patterns onto your skin
and leave a mark
too strong

you share a look with me
when you find someone else amusing
as if we are co-conspirators
a unit against the rest of the world

you hug me so encompassing
that i never want to leave the circle of your arms
i want to linger and hear your heartbeat respond to mine
and smell your cologne on me
for the rest of the day

you whisper in my ear
observations, jokes, utter nonsense
and my pulse races as i lean closer
snatching away these small moments
to keep with me
when you’re not here