Page by page,
You flip through the moments of your life.
It flashes before your eyes,
not quickly,
but slowly enough for you
to really remember
the time when you met your girlfriend,
the time when you got your dog,
the time you got a 4.0 GPA for the eighth year in a row.
Not just the happy times,
but the sad ones, too.
The first fight with your girlfriend.
When your dog died.
When you failed Band because you couldn't focus on anything other than her.
But you need to remember all of it --
don't close your eyes at anything.
Remember
the cool sand beneath your toes as
your dress whipped around your legs in the
sunset breeze,
playing ultimate frisbee and
freezing our toes in the
icy water of the ocean.
Spotting a whale,
a seal,
each other.
The dress,
now plastered to my legs with salt water,
admired by her as we rubbed noses.
As soon as our noses touch,
your life grows to a standstill.
The images and sounds of the memories disappear.
You return to the present, no longer worried
about death because you are with her.