the picture of you
sitting at the kitchen table
in front of your 
35th birthday cake,
Benson and Hedges Long
in one hand
Kendall Jackson 
sauvignon blanc
in the other

the only known
black and white photo,
wrapped in Saran
of you and 
your brother Tim

the first love letter
you ever wrote 
when you called me 'Babe'
and promised to take me
to that place
I'd never been,
even in my wildest dreams

the Rosh Hashana card
you signed
with only
a pink calypso kiss

have all survived 
for five years
in the box
on the floor 
of my closet.

©L.B. Fine