Steve Souza

The river knows what we were,
cradling our summers.

I remember you, girl by the river—
fifteen,
sun-warmed,
eternal.
My ghost in summer.

You laughed, and the river paused…
Barefoot,
dancing,
your brown skin
honeyed in the sun.

All the words I could have said
the river
swallowed
whole.

Sometimes—
when I close my eyes—
I hear the songs we used to know...

You, oceaning the shallows;
Me, a shell
on a distant shore.

#river #summer #love #youth #sun #water #skin

Steve Souza 4d

I Read Four Words Today

I read four words today.

Just four.

But their weight
stills
me.

I bow my head and
turn them
in my hands.

What are you asking me?
What are you trying to tell me?
What do you see?

I fold the paper.

I close
my
eyes.

Just four words.

(Part of the 'Four Words' collection. The other work is called 'I Wrote Four Words Today')

#thoughtful #writing #introspection #words #effort #poetry #poem #poet #fourwords

Steve Souza 4d

I Wrote Four Words Today

I wrote four words today.
Just four.

I bleed my hours into them.
Each syllable
I
weigh.

Like lifting stones from a dry riverbed,
turning each
over
and
over,
until one feels just right
in my hand.

Carefully
carving,
studying
and playing
with each one:
  Which catches the light just right?
  Which plays well with the others?
  What are you trying to tell me?

But mostly,
I discard.

Four words.

All my labor for the day--
Just four words.

It was a good day.

(Part of the 'Four Words' collection. The other work is called 'I Read Four Words Today')

#thoughtful #writing #introspection #words #effort #poetry #poem #poet #fourwords

Steve Souza Jun 6

Fragments Of Us

Your coffee rings still
stain
the kitchen counter.

Pinned maps
of the vacation
we never took
hang
crooked
now.

Our pictures on the wall.
Shrines
to what we once
were.

I hold your forgotten
t-shirt —
this stubborn map
of you.

My fingers hover over
the 'send' button,
before
falling
into
my
lap.

Night seeps through
these windows
and your memory
burns.

Flashing
like
broken
film.

#love #breakup #romantic #heartbreak