you could've grown old

your bones creaking

laugh lines streaking

soft canyons across your face

tracing out the years

evidence that you lived so deeply

you could've grown old

watching everything around you bloom

gardens and children and brand new moons

but the world has blossomed without you

we could've grown old together

seeking the next adventure

making every possible mistake

and living

just living would've been enough

your lungs brimming with grateful breath

your skin warm and soft

blood dancing just underneath it

you know

sometimes i forget how alive you once were

more than a dim memory

you shouldn't have to be a memory

you should be here with me, with all of us

sharing birthdays and late nights and the bad days

at least that meant you were alive

to feel it, to see it, to know

just how much that i wish

that you could've at least

grown old