On our walks around the city
this girl i used to date
would recall
what went where:
That used to be a dog kennel.
That was once a record store.
Over there used to be a Thai restaurant.
I wasn’t as fascinated by the history
as with her ability to remember.
She was still in her 20s
but her recall was that
of an ancient elephant.
I thought of her just today
seeing a fresh empty lot
something just destroyed
its pieces already piled up in a green dumpster
erased from the corner and ready
for the next thing.
Last week something stood there
and i had walked by as i walked by now
what it had been was already lost to me.
Whatsherface would have remembered.
—Larry Crist