I Remember

I Remember

By Ainsley A. Cheng

I remember a time
When we played "Grown-Up"
With lipstick in one hand,
A mirror in another.

It feels like it was only
Just yesterday -
Even if it was many
A many.

I remember a time
When we would laugh
About the silliest of things -
Yet it seems,

Those were
The most beautiful,
Most memorable,
And most joyful.

I remember a time
When we cried
About broken hearts,
Angry teachers,
And even
About our own.

It feels like it was only
Just yesterday -
Even if it was many
A many.

I remember a time
When we endured
Terrible fashion
And bad haircuts -

Such rules,
Expectations -
We cannot even
Begin to imagine today.

I remember a time
When it was always
Just us
Against the world.

Our days were
Books,
Dolls,
and our braids.

I remember a time
When we sat together
And our memories were
Black and white.

Our memories were
Chained together
By numbers, classes,
And tests.

I remember a time
When we were
All
Apart.

In different
Parts of the world -
Seemed too, too
Far.

I remember a time
When we wrote
Cards and letters
Just to remember

When we were just
Blocks away,
Spending hours
And hours together.

I remember a time
When we bickered -
Pushing the check
Back and forth

Promising
That next time,
Next time,
It would be you.

I remember a time
When it was easy
To forget and
To rip apart

Whenever it seemed
That one forgot
The other or
Another.

I remember a time
When having you
By my side was better
Than having someone new

I would be
The self I once
Remembered,
Cherished.

I remember
Always, always...

"Like Strength," She Responded

"Like Strength," She Responded.

by Ainsley A. Cheng

"Like her mother,"
They all said.
She would smile
And nod her head.

"Like a child,"
They'd all say.
Yet, this was my,
My favorite look.
The quietest laugh
... Somehow the loudest
and the most cheerful -
I could hear it with my heart.

"Like home,"
But what is home?
Her pink shirt?
Children's play table?
Warm air blowing
From the air vent?

"Like beauty."
She brushed her hair.
"Better than the salon?
I watched them."
She closed her eyes
... And allowed her
To run the comb through
Her silvery roots.

"Like lost."
Her eyes,
Her eyes,
Unsure.

"Like hope."
She'd wonder,
Wonder,
and wait.

"Like a picture."
Perfect -
A snapshot to
Remember
Today,
Today,
Almost like
Yesterday.

"Like - no, is happy."
She was not ready
To go,
To go.

"Like patient,"
She waited, waited.
She didn't want time
To go, to go.

"Like forever."
Even as she knew
She'd see light
Again, again.

"Like love."
Always always -
She never gave up
Knowing that
Small words,
Gestures -
That's all
That was
Needed.

"Like goodbye."
But no -
Always
Until
Next time,
Next time.

Voices

Voices

By Ainsley A. Cheng

There's no photo that can capture

A familiar smell, touch, or sound.

Yet that immense fear -

Fear of being forgotten

Puts you in the lens

That is then forever remembered,

At least,

Just for a little bit.

His laugh when the TV was on

And moments when you'd get upset

Cause his kisses smelled of cigarettes

And his hands smelled of cards.

But all moments when

There was his voice.

His love for you -

Just as he loved his daughter.

You were reminder of when she was small.

He'd dance, sing, and even laugh

Just so you would feel

Love.

And then her.

Still here, and yet feeling so distant.

Her home, no longer hers -

She sits in a different chair now.

Her home no longer smells familiar,

No longer lingers of her love.

You sit in her chair,

Feeling small,

Despite the fact that it's been years

And you fit almost perfectly -

Feet no longer dangling

And the head comfortably on the rest.

She's left behind traces,

Even forgotten things -

Never used things.

It's not the dust that breaks,

But the forgottenness -

That breaks your heart.

And then the things she's kept

Just to remember -

Remember your face

even when she knows

One day, she won't remember

Or maybe you won't.

Their home  no longer is theirs

Even if pages say it is.

Each time you come back,

You just wait and listen -

Both their voices

Seem to be still there.