All I have of you now
is this crumpled black & white
from that day at the fair.

I can still feel
the sticky pink cotton candy mustaches
that you made for me.

I see you
run past the ticket booth
to buy those red helium balloons
just so you could set them free
into an endless blue sky.

And while I stood there transfixed
with my eyes following their flight
you raced ahead to the next ride
shouting my name over your left shoulder.

This pic was one of many:
I snapped it on the boardwalk,
right after the Zipper ride
that almost made me lose
my lunch and my focus.

The blurriness of it all
did not diminish
how happy and exhilarated you were.
Your cheeks had the crimson look of a bruise.
Your hat flew off
just after that pic was taken.
And you raced off down the boardwalk
to save it from pelicans
and hotdog vendors and such...
Remember?

And years later,
you remain
the last thing i look at every night
and the first thing
i wake up to every morning.