i hope the punishment for you arrives gently,

i hope the punishment for you arrives gently,

never loud, never cruel
just soft enough to undo you.

i hope it comes in the memory
of how my lips once brushed yours,
barely there,
just enough for you to wonder
if you imagined the warmth
or if it was really me
smiling into your mouth.

i hope it comes when you taste something sweet,
a berry tint lingering on your tongue,
and without meaning to,
you pause.
because it reminds you
of a moment you were never supposed to have.

and i hope it comes on an ordinary day,
when you’re walking beside her,
your fingers laced with hers,
moving through some random shop
with too-bright lights and too-familiar scents.

and suddenly,
a perfume that almost matches mine
passes between you
and your chest tightens
in that quiet, traitorous way,
the way regret does
when it knows it’s too late
to turn back.

not because you want me,
not because you’re unhappy,
but because a part of you
that you tried to bury
still remembers

and remembering

is its own kind of punishment.