The Power of Forgetting – A Poem

I was blinded

by the sun

and didn’t see

him until he

was walking next

to me. He smiled

and I was

struck by how

insincere it was.

Long time no see. How have you been?

I tried to

place him. I

had no idea

who he was

but he seemed

to know me.

Fine thanks. How about you?

He kept pace

with me. I

looked at his

face and tried

to place him,

to find a

name, tried to

find something familiar

in his facial

features. There was

nothing, no spark

of recognition. I

didn’t know him.

Life is good. My grandparents just got back from Paris. They always liked you.

Oh, that’s nice.

I still had

no idea who

he was, how

I had known

him. He smiled

falsely at me.

How’s your husband?

I don’t have a husband. I have a boyfriend and he’s lovely.

Oh, that’s nice.

He echoed my

words back at

me and the

entire conversation felt

all odd and

out of place.

I pointed across

the street with

a wave of

my hand. I

shrugged at him.

I’m going that way. Sorry.

That’s okay, I’m going this way. It was nice seeing you again.

Yeah, nice to see you.

The words weren’t

true, but they

felt more polite

than telling him

I didn’t know

who he was.

I walked on,

away from him

and his weird,

fake smile. It

was only hours

later that I

remembered who he

was and what

he had done

to me. I

had assumed that

I would always

remember him, that

I would never

forget him and

his cruelty. I

had carried those

memories with me

for a long

time. Too long.

I had forgotten

him, had forgotten

the shape of his

face, the contours

of his brow.

His face was

erased from my

memory and consciousness.

As I realized

that I had

forgotten who he

was, I also

let go of

who he had

been. I went

back out into

the sunshine and

felt a lot

brighter in body

mind and spirit.

I had let

a piece of

my past go

and looked

forward to what

the future would

bring.