what is

A face, a smile
a toss of the head,
but from afar,
where
everyone’s safely
ensconced,
or at least just
ensconced, for what counts
as
“safe,” is subject
to debate.
Too little is not enough,
too much
is dangerous. Slivers
of moments can set off fragments of hope, which is not
always
a good thing, though some would
say
otherwise.
Years ago, now, he wrote:
"remember what was, not
what
wasn’t," and
he reminds himself of that, often enough
to qualify as mantra.
So, he remembers
what
was, and
stops
there.
Mostly.