Hasan Davis is a graduate of Berea College and University of Kentucky College of Law. Hasan has been writing poetry and fiction since his youth and is published in the Grio, an African-American scholarly journal; The Word Weaver, published by Berea College; and in publications from the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. Hasan has a background in theatre and public speaking. He is currently touring a one man show as part of the Kentucky Humanities Council's "Living History Series". Hasan is director of the Youth Violence Prevention Project for the City of Lexington, Kentucky.

I Remember You

Clubbing me with a 2 x 4, then running home laughing.

In the second grade your mouth was washed with soap.

We "did it" behind the furnace, in your basement,

Your brother caught us.

 

I Remember You

Asking me to be your boy friend,

neglecting to tell me that the class bully was also.

You were beautiful.

I, the new kid, would have been silly to refuse.

But, I guess you didn't expect me to slam his face into the Jungle Gym.

I left the two of you screaming frantically in the recesses of my memory.

 

I Remember You

Asking "Do you Love Me?" It was Truth or Dare

Thc truth was I dare not reveal to you what I really feel.

I continued my vigil in silence, taking the role of Guardian Angel. Ready to protect you in your

new life,

 

I Remember You

In the heat of passion, confessing feelings

We agreed had no place in our Affairs.

With daylight you renege your soul, and I feign relief.

And as you stroll back past the gates of your picket fence

I pray for rain to wash the pain from my eyes

 

I Remember

You spoke to me in Dutch or was it Spanish,

Maybe German, or Japanese, Creole, Surnamese, English.

I understood little,

But read your body like blind do braille.

Communication was not a problem.

We invented new languages to cover our exploration

 

I Remember You

Carressing me.

As we acted, lewd fantasy with comedic grace.

For hours at a time we two fell from the eyes of the world

Only to resurface dripping -- hot -- satiated

Anticipating our next rehearsed scene.

 

I Remember You

Saying you loved me but, needed stability, Family.

Too old for my games you fled into your dreams

Leaving your heart to slowly melt through my fingers.

 

I Remember You

Promising that you would spend forever with me

"But, it will have to be our secret," you said.

Like a fool I agreed not realizing until too late

The non-refundable cost of forfieted pride

 

I Remember You

Familiar images in the faces of strangers on the street.

I Remember You

The scent of every woman I encounter at close quarters.

I Remember You

Tbc winding curves of mountain roads

I Remember You

And as I write those words, I Wonder

Do you Remember Me?

© Hasan Davis