again

if i lose my memory one day

show me the books i love and let me

let me love them all over again

let me lie in my mother’s arms

and feel like a kid and be forgiven,

let me once more get to know my friends

feel cotton sheets and borrowed cigarettes

and watch the moths on the mosquito net

let me kiss your hair like it’s the first time

explain to me my tattoos and nicknames

let me make naïve mistakes and forget

all my outgrown and outdated shame

and please, if you could try then,

though i know i will be different,

love me, love me all over again