I'll Pretend You Are Here

I’ll Pretend You are Here June 11, 2025 I'll pretend you are here. I'll make sure there's food in the refrigerator and the apartment picked up. I'll make your tea in the morning and listen to the music you play on your phone. I'll enjoy snacks and cook food as if you were here to eat with me. When I shop I'll think about what you might like and buy for two, not one, just as if you are going to be there when I get home. I'll pray for you in my heart because that's where you will always be. I'll pray for you just the same. I'll try not to cry. I'll think about you night and day. I'll be thankful for the years when we were a family, when children did not know what was going on in the world, but we knew we were safe. I'll pretend you are here. We won't argue about anything. We won't both be angry. We won't both be on edge and stressed and distraught, and ready to lose our temper and blow up over something that's happening somewhere on planet Earth, but not here, thank God. At least not in our hearts. Because we are joined at the hip, always have been, always will be. I'm waiting to hear from you. Every time I call I get your voicemail. I just can’t hear that again. I can’t leave another message. I get tongue tied. What more can I say? Just want to talk to you like before all this happened. I'll think about the sound of your voice and enjoy your sense of humor. We'll laugh together, and I'll listen to you play my out-of-tune piano. I'll wait to hear from you. We won't let politics drive a wedge between us. Just like you said. I'll wait for your call. I’ll pretend you are here.