Release

  I 

Too late, I let you dissolve 

You were dust when you could have been rain

II 

I picture a picture I never should have seen 

Of you, a dream in your eyes

Bent forward, toothpick dangling, in black and white 

The ghost story I fell in love with 

You always existed in memory alone.

III

In some tellings you were the firefly

Other times you were the jar

More than you know,

We are the same

I promise I won’t hold against you

anything you’ve done to get free. 

Poem by Ellie Ellias. Originally published in Crowstep Journal in Oct, 2024.