The Memorial Bench

When then I sat on this memorial bench
I dug my heels into its concrete setting
Exfoliating decades of jaundiced decay
Cake upon cake now flecked
I scraped harder
layer after archived layer
Now blooded under a smooth veneer

When then I regarded this memorial bench
I winced my eyes shut to the sea’s salty spray
Disinfecting decades of petrified icing
Spray after spray now benign
I waded deeper
Wave after unthinking wave
Now sleeping under a glassy smear

When now I sink into this memorial bench
I lift my gaze beyond its varnished timber
Unscaling decades of unsculpted relief
I chisel deeper
Coat after opaque coat
Now weathered under a forgotten care

When now I recline on this memorial bench
I am transfixed heavenwards beyond the racing clouds
Transversing decades of fettered headrest
I edge closer
Now barely remembered in memorial

And when I have flown away from this memorial bench
When the bird lines on my hand have been etched
When the needle leaves the hard ground undisturbed
When the waves leave the memorial bench submerged
When even memory of the memory is benched
When then I search for the memorial bench
I will still remember you