I came across a picture recently
and saw you for the first time
in forever.
You looked good
– you always do –
but seeing you again
made me realize
just how much
I miss your voice.

The way you talked,
how you would tell a story
so thoughtfully
each word chosen
with such effortless precision,
it left me close to tears.

I can live without your looks
astonishing as they are
and the way you acted
meant nothing to me
but that voice,
that careful manner,
those beautiful tones,
I hadn’t realized how bereft I’d been
without them.

Even if it’s just the alphabet
or to tell me off
is there a way
you might be at all willing
to speak at me again?