Echoes

I once thought that, given time,
Your name would fade in the back of my mind –
Like chalk words on the pavement after rain,
Slowly washed away
By the small abrasions of everyday life.

But it has not.

I still find myself thinking of you as I walk.
On the tram, in the glass of the window,
I catch a reflection that looks like your profile,
And my heart, very quietly,
Drops a little out of place.

I say that I have let go –
I simply never say it very loudly,
Because I know that
The moment someone mentions your name,
That sound will once again begin to echo in my chest
And go on echoing there
For a very, very long time.