The First Time

This is not the first time
we have met
and this is not the first time we have
recognized each other.
Like a memory of a very old
recurring dream
you stroke my brow
like the many first times
and I touch your cheek
just as the many first times.
We look into each other
and remember
these many first times.
You relish the scent off my hand
and I savor the warmth
of your breath
in these many first times.
And for all these days we might have missed
filling this space
with our missing each other, we will be
made whole again
with a single caress
and a thousand remembrances
like the many first times.

// 17 Jul 2020