the way
his hair falls
for a moment
I forget
his age

the winter sun
enough to melt
a hard frost
why do useless attachments
last for a lifetime?

you tell me
all your news and that
you're happy now
in a tone of voice
I hardly recognise

on the telephone
we talk of
email
how easy it is
to hide behind words

tattered remnants
of something caught up
in the wire
the no-man's land
beyond caring

windscreen wipers
brush aside the evening rain
some things
that will never be
forgotten

I would have
given
anything
but you chose
freedom