if i could summon the strength
i would ask you to forget
about that time at the lake
when we got lost on a country
lane and i refused to check
the map or ask for directions
pretending (as always) to know
better than you and too damn
stubborn to stop the car for even
one single minute while you sat
in the next seat fuming mad
(no doubt) and gave me a dose
of well-deserved silent treatment
lasting only long enough until
a wall of forget-me-nots came
into view round the next bend
then from the corner of my eye
spied a faint smile and shoulders
slump slightly while you relaxed
as if all those tiny blue flowers
sensed your mood and washed
you clean while i sat too dumb
to mutter even a single word —
maybe those forget-me-nots
offered you better comfort than
any fool thing i could have said.