Today, I told someone about you.
Today, for the first time in a long time,
I told someone about you.
I said your name and felt my heart catch,
felt the avalanche of the world crashing down
around me all over again.
Today, I was grateful for empathy.
I shut my eyes and thanked you
for all that you’ve given me.
Today, I thought about you
and how the years just keep passing by.
Today, I mentioned you and waited to cry.
I felt through the sorrow of the moment
and really felt it.
I felt a few more tears slip through my eyes.
Today, I saw your name written down
and felt some indescribable grief,
a longing somewhere deep down inside of me.
I imagined a world where you're vibrant and alive,
swirls of sequins and pinks, diamond rings,
long walks and playground swings.
Today, I said your name.
Juliette Sebock is a Best of the Net-nominated poet and writer and the author of Mistakes Were Made, Micro, How My Cat Saved My Life and Other Poems, and Boleyn, with work forthcoming or appearing in a wide variety of publications. She is the founding editor of Nightingale & Sparrow, runs a lifestyle blog, For the Sake of Good Taste, and is a regular contributor with Marías at Sampaguitas, Royal Rose, Memoir Mixtapes, and The Poetry Question. When she isn't writing (and sometimes when she is), she can be found with a cup of coffee and her cat, Fitz. Juliette can be reached on her website, juliettesebock.com, or across social media @juliettesebock.