Concentrate

All the years
the miles
the distance
concentrates
to a few moments
memory
recalled in an instant
slammed into place

All dark corners
and elements forgotten
alight
await inspection

There: the steel of old anger rusts
hard
flaking slowly orange
There: the porous driftwood
of nostalgia
the scent of treasures drowned
Here: yellowed pages embossed
curled from words
by pressure, heat, inertia
his calloused hands...
There: a scent remembered
a voice through the telephone line
coiling again through your hair
my fingers
my breath
words that disappeared once
past my lips
I wonder if you even heard

All these elements
these moments recalled
precious things cherished no longer
concentrate
slam into place
before they melt and
slowly diffuse