dancing in the presence

when you think of me,

think of sunflowers.
think of children laughing.
think of bathing suits and sunscreen.
think of rapid-fire questions at the dinner table.
think of silly dances in public places.
think of photobooth pictures.
think of sunsets on the beach.
think of chewing gum.
think of eyes glaring at a book in the darkness of the night.
think of countdowns at takeoff.
think of pretzeled cuddles.
think of the words “whatever” and “interesting.”
think of cows eating grass along the freeway.
think of sunglasses indoors.
think of Blue Bottle and Yeastie Boys.
think of Spindrift-the lemon flavor of course.
think of Jesus.
think of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
think of the dollar sign.
think of long walks nowhere and everywhere.

please, when you think of me, think only of the good.

i know there’s so much bad to think of
but i promise you,
i think of the bad enough for the both of us.

please remember me
for all i strived to be,
and not for everything i never was.