How We Forget

The cold until

It’s too cough

The faces

Not the names

Too late

Ishmael

he lives alone

with his wife

and children

laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing is crying is laughing

The Perfect Poem

Ishmael Gomes

a b c d e f g

h i j k l m n o p

q r s t u v

w x y z

The Old Dog Barks

Where the house

Once was

When you lived

In that house once was

Once was when once

Was just a house

And the street

Still there only

The house

Once was