I have a museum of you in my camera roll
I sneak in every day after close
And I whisper words of love, of safety
To every one of our smiling photos

I smile for the stars in your eyes
While the tears roll down my face
I say a prayer for every memory
That you've already erased

Because, my baby,

I loved for every rose-filled photo shoot
And for heart-shaped York chocolate candies
For candle-lit outdoor porches
And constant kisses in the movies

For infatuated poetry and stupid car-ride singing
For lazy, sunlit, cinnamon rolls & cuddles types of mornings

For play-filled cooking in the kitchen and food truck, hopeful dreams
For the warmth and light within you, I've seen bursting at the seams

For together, but apart, late-night binge TV shows
For texting games and picture frames and learning how to grow

For bears, bunnies, sheep, and elephants, and the way you say my name
For the butterflies left wandering a recently vacant plane

I think...

They got lost inside your laughter
Caught on the edges of your smile
Danced along to your steady heartbeat
And closed their eyes for a little while

They opened from a nap on the beach
And as the waves began to unfurl,
They curled closer in and smiled
For the most beautiful girl in the world

If I reach out, I can touch it–of this, I'm pretty sure
The infinite ways I've tried to express it, all the reasons I love you for

It shudders at my fingers, the pain still trembling at the door
But if I try, I can't regret it, all the things I love you for

Everything hurts and you're not here to heal it
You're not here to rub my back
Kiss my head
Hold my hand
You're not here to wrap your arm around my waist
And pull me close
The thing that hurts the most
Is that you could be
And I just...
I never thought you wouldn't want to

My skin still knows your touch
It shivers in the cold
The goosebumps chase an endless path
I think
They're reaching out for you