"Te me manquera" by Scottlynn Ballard

In English,

there is no verb to level

se manquer--the being gone

from someone. We say “I

miss you”, as if to translate

that within the distance, the only bridge

connecting

Is a single plank-turned-pronoun. As if I

am the board to walk to that distant

Island, you

It is the cry of the separated.

Se manquer implies amputation--

severance from what was once one

To be gone from someone and hold some

piece. A man

without is still a man and yet--

Hand, ligaments, fingertips

l’or

It is the cry of separating

So when I say that I miss you,

I am saying tu me manque

for while I have my head

You have my heart.

“Tu me manque

quand tu pars, et quand tu rentres

je me remis ensemble.”

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Photo Credit: Ms. Loesche