Lethe

You'll forget anything 
That you do more than once.
Only the singular
Memories more or less
Stay labeled and intact.
Three years ago this date,

My lover and a nurse
Hauled me from a gurney
Onto a huge wheelchair
Designed for stroke victims,
Cranked me partway upright,
And rolled me into sun,

Between the hospital
Fountains and the highway,
South of Salt Lake City.
The chair felt like a boat,
Long white sheets in full sail.
Never did that again,

Never hope to do so.
Two years ago this date
My new bride and I drove
A white boat of a truck
From Helen Gorge over
Red sands and spinifex

Horizons under blue
Skies through clouds of black flies,
In Australia's NT,
Past carcasses and wrecks,
Nearly getting stuck once,
A one of its kind day.

I remember it well.
But just a year ago
We spent the day doing
All our favorite things
By the lake. That's a blur.
The best day of them all.