I'd already forgotten your name
But it wasn't like I planned it,
And after a moment, it came back-
Like a vague memory, of a long
Uncomfortable fever,
Being out of your head for a few days,
Or a lingering cough of several weeks.

It will always be there buried,
My sins never really forgiven,
My confusion unanswered;
The viral storm you took me over with
Just a bad dream, one of many nightmares.

Living well doesn't erase it,
And self respect doesn't heal it-
Even if I still had any of that left.

You are only the thorn I pricked myself with
Before the hundred-years sleep
Of numberless, uneasy dreams.