take a picture of me, in this light
by dainobu, red tones against this shiny street, warm light bleeding through a restaurant window
remember me now, looking at you, smile in my eyes
in this moment
crux of summer
our stories intertwine again, again
again

sake and dinner bento on a tuesday
i don’t apologize anymore, only raise my cup to toast you,
we talk of our plans to take over the world
when nobody else understood when nobody else could see
just like we left off
in m thai when it was still there and waiting for us, in candlelit pad see ew dinners, small moments between classes
in our walks on 8th Avenue in Chelsea
on our rooftop we weren’t supposed to be in, where my heart was still hurting from a past, but was alright for a moment there with you
in the fog, like tonight
where street lights are only colors and traffic chatter is muted, where only our breathing mattered and the mist blanketed our eyes, thoughts elsewhere
dreams in the distance, dreams where we kept all of this too

the shutter goes-
soon the night will end, soon we will separate into our homes
you in the east village, mine just over the street

my head replays this in different ways
we stutter to find a place to go, a way to keep talking like this
you look at me, maybe
once we would have been closer
and it wouldn’t hurt in ways like this, in what ifs and infinite wishes

playing with your hands, they look like someone i know
you weren’t a forever, you weren’t mine to keep
but maybe, i found my forever a little quick
and i stopped our story where it could have began
there is nothing left to do but make one more toast to you and me, across the room,
hearts mended and broken, just as it began