In Queen’s Park

I remember you in Queen’s Park
the shade of maple you snapped me in
lightbulbs flashing at the leaves
while subway rumbled beneath us

I remember me in blue jeans
the taste of autumn on my lips
you kissed on green wooden bench
ignoring squirrels from upper branches

I remember quiet
our secret island despite traffic
despite carillon from Soldier`s Tower
in November, the notes in textbooks

even in depths of snowdrifts
I remember you, the tree trunks dark
against the brightness of your gleam–
our aching innocence

(originally published in Verse Afire, Jan. 2018)