What You Left Behind

Your call took me by surprise

Some 20 years after our divorce

And

Five months before

your passing

Over the years

The tears of regret eventually

disappeared

And gave over to confused

wonder

Why

It takes so long

To understand what pride denies

To know how the power

of vulnerability

Can be stronger than ego.

Between the lines

The words we didn’t know

How to say back then

Emerged like a salve

Gently massaging the scars

Both of us mistakenly thought

were forgotten.

Naida Lavon

March 9, 2024