Small Archive

Fingers fumbled for the registration,

tucked behind a manual

that smells like stale air and old vinyl.

Instead, I pulled out

a movie ticket, edges softened by time,

a rom-com from five years ago

when laughter came easier.

It clung to a pen,

dried out, useless now.

Further in, that tiny tarnished earring,

forgotten for good.

A dim cave of small mistakes

and promises

never quite kept.