Missing

I didn't get everything back

I can't put my finger on what it is that wasn't returned

That I feel is missing

I don't think it's much

But it's big enough to notice

Almost small enough to go undetected

But substantial in its absence

Perhaps it's the mermaid dress

That 34.50 was a chunk of change

Maybe that's what's lacking from my wallet

I would say it's my ring

But no, you gave that back

Though I hadn't expected 

Nor particularly wanted its return

Is it the pair of tongs I stole

I had intended use it someday to mix salads 

Something with berries and spinach

I think we would have enjoyed it

I thought maybe it was the purple pants

That maybe you had kept them

Because hadn't they become yours, really, after all?

But I found them in a bag that I had already packed so that can't be it

So I think maybe it's a piece of my life

My friends

My future

My heart

A piece of my life that I didn't get back

I didn't get it back the night I drove away

Or in the bag with the spices

Or in my car with the letter

Or in the blank envelope with the ring

So I guess I know where it is

The only place that's left

And I guess I know it's not ever coming back to me