November 5, 2023 - Rahil Najafabadi’s “Familiar Moment”

I keep forgetting the names
of revolutions, remembering
people’s faces. Gone too far
by stepping on old photographs,
carving hearts into stone pillars
and tearing up into a stagnant river.
I’m older than the tree line
that guards our empty homes.
I pass by to wave at my window,
maybe I’ll see myself waiting.
Barely reaching eye level––again
the air feels like it’s leaving space
for rain that lasts overnight, washing
the pause into wakefulness.