Day One 03/16/26

It’s the first day
and already my hands betray me,
checking, hoping,
for your messages that never come.
Do you think of me, even a little?

I went to my meetings,
met my deadlines,
laughed at lunch
like nothing was missing,
then went home
carrying the weight of a day
that had no space for you.

I keep replaying your face,
the flicker of sadness—
was it real, or just in my mind?
Do you feel a little hollow too,
a little tug where I used to be?

After everything we shared,
how do we slide back
into the cold skin of strangers?

JMS