A Man Who Could Not Remeber (alternate view)

Plaster, air, stone, poetry, steel, plywood

“Once I met a man who could not remember”, Benjamin Phillips, 2026

Once I met a man who could not remember
His life lived lay locked,
Somewhere hidden behind the scrabble of his senses.
All moments conceded to renewals
Each reborn pure and without prejudice.

But I am your wife, she exclaims, why have you forsaken me?
But I am your daughter, the child exclaims, why have you forsaken me?
But I am your garden, the garden exclaims, why have you forsaken me?
A voice. An outstretched hand. A colourful scent.
A shoe.

What a perfect man, I thought, like a god!
Untethered by his past, he is entirely
Present.
He steps impulsively into an idling bus.
The doors close.
It departs.

The companion realizes what has happened, only too late.
I watch as the bus plods away
I look to the companion
(a pause)
And turn away to watch snow fall.