Forced to Remember by Linda M. Crate

your eyes are the blue
of forget-me-nots,
and those petals echo
themselves
arching their backs catlike into
the sky of azure;
i know you've long since forgotten me,
but there's some ghost of you
refusing to release me—
i want more than anything to bury 
the past,
but you refuse to let me;
always creeping up pouring memories on me
like hot tea thrown upon my lap when i least expect it
causing me to burn in anguish—
it's always the ones that hurt that forget,
and those wounded that are forced to remember.








Linda M. Crate's works have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies both online and in print. She is the author of the Magic Series and three published chapbooks. She is a Pennsylvanian native who loves nature, art, literature, anime, and spending time with loved ones.