This is the last photo I have from
when we were still (I daren’t say it) -

You and me, cosy in the frame,
the lights dim and picture blurry like a memory.
Eyes not on the camera but intent on the game,
our cards held close, careful not to be screened.

Like this photo, the cards in your hand
I only discovered much later.

You were playing a game
I didn’t know I was a player in,
except I was. We all were.

(I suppose we weren’t ever really [deleted]
to begin with,
sometimes I’m not sure
if that matters at all.)