The beginnings of summer in a global pandemic

I’ve lost my passport

I’m declaring it “lost” / but really, it’s in my room somewhere, buried among a sea of boxes I’ve still yet to unpack / “My Room” / my little brother’s old room / The Spare Room

How strange, this feeling of unease I can’t shake / mon passeport, mon cheri, tu mes manques / you are missing from me /

Funny, since my only travels exist within the confines of 90-minute movies / an evening wandering Vienna with Jesse and Celine, one day in Paris, a whole summer spent in Greece

My sense of urgency’s in short supply / the impulse to ransack my belongings and reunite us / my darling / Passport, papers, laissez-passer / Doorway, avenue, entrée, open sesame

And if I were to find my love, where would we go together? / Even the bars are shut, / the meat-markets hollow

For now, I sip escapism from cans of India Pale Ale / exotic flavours to quench my thirst for travel / Each purchased by a parent, an unchallenged over-twenty-five / A memory of being under-eighteen and blonde-haired, with crimson-painted lips and an uncertain gaze

In my passport photo, I’m under-eighteen and blonde-haired, with crimson-painted lips and an uncertain gaze