what his face

looked like, and

the clothes, the style,

the belt and the shoes

but you’ll never forget

the place where your mind

was seared, branded forever,

the smell of the garage or the

taste of fear in your mouth

that comes back during

long nights slept alone,

safer this way, you say

not a burden to others

nothing but a stain

on a distant past

only you still

remember.