Did I Imagine All That?

When time passes by,
how do you differentiate
memory from imagination,
truth from perception,
love from delusion?
 
Like when you hold an ice cube and it melts,
you wonder
was it ever really there?

When you miss someone and they’re gone,
your wonder did they even exist? or—
the sharp pain in your chest
is merely an imagination?
 
How do you know something happened
when you can no longer see it
hear it,
touch it,
taste it?
 
How do you know someone was there
when all your senses are starting to forget
how it feels to touch their beard after shaving,
how it looks when they first wake up in the morning,
how it sounds when their lips curled up just enough—
to say “I love you”?
 
We used to watch TV until 3 in the morning,
now I stay up til 4,
brew tea with bags under my eyes
and think—
did I imagine all that?

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