love, i think of you throughout the day

sometimes conceptually,
sometimes viscerally.
love, i think of you throughout the day,
your absence is a presence for me,
a wrong presence,
because you belong here with me now,
a right presence,
because you are where you should be
(as long as you return).

love, i think of you throughout the day,
today, and the days before it.
i wallow in your absence,
a sow happy to have the cool mud
that comes from more time on my own.

and your absence stings,
a sore cavity awaiting your filling.
love, i think of you throughout the day,
today, and the days to come,
until you arrive here,
home.

(cc) Karen G. Johnston