There is something
you are supposed to be doing
and an itch inside your soul
reminding you
but no clear clue
as to what it is
that you need to do.

So you sit
and you wait
in an uneasy chair
for memory to find you
and when that gets old
you go about your day
cleaning fishes,
shining clocks,
pretending there is not something important
just out of reach
just out of view
that you need to see.

And when that gets old
you play mnemonic games
to arrive at this secret:
just where were you
when you forgot the thing
that you forgot?
Can you remember?
You cannot.

Eventually, exhausted,
you give up
on your quest
of internal data recovery
– really –
and get back into the rhythm of your life
and do what needs to be done
and then
almost accidentally,
you are reminded:

“Forget her.”
That’s it.
Forget her,
which,
you chuckle,
you’d been able to do
until you remembered.