Ironed shirt,
blue-grey floral dress,
too many words,
the seam splits.
They are still together
in this photograph,
taken many hours before,
immersed in candlelight,
spilled across the wooden table.
Their faces imprint the past,
highlights and shadows of an empty room,
cutting away what was,
erasing memories.
Drops of warm wax
solidify,
fall away.
Did it all really happen?