i saved up napkins

from our time together -

one napkin

from each place we visited together.

i had it all planned out -

one poem

for each napkin

for each place

each moment spent together.

my first collection

unofficially published

just for you.

i would give them to you before our time neared its end.

i started stringing the words together long before our eyes met

based on how i thought the encounter would go.

maybe that was my mistake -

my mind

always getting ahead of reality.

This is reality:

empty napkins lie crumpled at the bottom of my bag.