Samuel

Phantom Ring

I still twist the air

where the ring used to sit —

black silicone,

nothing flashy,

but it meant everything.

 

I wore it like skin.

Not to show off,

but to hold on.

To remind myself

I belonged somewhere.

 

It never shimmered,

never sparkled —

but it stayed.

Through sweat,

through storms,

through Sunday football

and late-night walks with the dog

when we were too tired to talk

but still too in love not to.

 

Now my thumb still searches for it.

Like my body hasn’t caught up

to what my heart already knows —

that it’s gone.

That we are.

 

And yet,

some mornings,

I swear I feel it again.

Like the memory itself

is gripping back.

 

And I miss it.

The weightless weight

of something that meant forever —

even if it was just silicone.

Even if it cracked under pressure.

 

Even if I did, too.