Every fight.
Every night.
Every tear cried on my doorstep or yours.
Every other girl who caught your eye.
Every time you said you’d changed.
Then every time you became complacent again.
Your nose.
Your hair.
Your stare.
Your too-tight jeans.
Your perfect teeth.
And your laugh which could make or break me.
Your jealousy.
My jealousy.
My desperation.
My fear.
When you called me a woman.
And when you made me feel like one.
When you moved away.
When you came back for me.
Feeling safe for the first time.
Feeling safe for the last time.
Feeling love, for once reciprocated.
Feeling alone together.
Our first hello.
Our last goodbye.
And every ‘I love you’ in between.
These memories I keep.
I nurture them.
I examine them through new lenses,
And also through the same old ones as before.
To keep us alive.
To honour what once was.