i knew you by choice.
You were a place i sat to breathe.

There was no way to hold you or keep you
so i took you in pieces.

There were others
who have remarked of your grace
or forgotten you completely.

i may not have paid attention
to what you’d wished for me to see.
i can only say i saw you.

i may not have become
that part of you
which you needed
me to be.
i can only say i felt you.

i may not have listened
to every word
you chose to sing.
i can only say i heard you.

My heart is a beautiful sky
known only by treetops
and outer branches.

i cannot paint or draw
this place that is
my heart.

i can only say I knew you