So there I am, scrolling
through my long list of Facebook friends
when I see the name of someone who died last year.
It's not like they were my best friend,
they weren't,
but they were a good friend, a pearl,
someone whose company I very much enjoyed,
someone I laughed with and listened to,
whose stories moved me
not to mention their uncried tears.

Their name is staring at me from
the cold screen of a laptop
I bought to stay in touch with people I love,
but they are gone --
gone their smile,
gone the scar above their eyebrow,
gone the curious way they turned their head.

I am not scrolling now, just looking at their name,
and then I scroll again.

Five people down,
I see another friend
no longer here to check their inbox or send me a joke.

I pause,
take a long, slow breath,
and scroll again.

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