Your brother FaceTimed me
and the first thing he told me about
was the blood.
It wasn’t that you fell off the zip line,
it’s that the zip line fell
on your head.
Your dad took the phone
and showed me the gash.
You were cleaned up
at this point
but I still wanted to cry
when I saw it
zoomed in
like an aerial shot
of where a quake
split the earth.
Then you took the phone
and played fart sounds for me on YouTube
which is what your dad
had played for you
to make you laugh.
I kissed the camera
and you did too
so that it almost felt like a real kiss.
And then I quickly got on a zoom call
with my clients
which almost felt
like a real launch.
What a big day,
I said out loud, alone,
later that night.
And then I put my hand on my chest
wondering how my body will remember this year,
so many experiences witnessed
behind the glass of my phone
so many memories made
without skin.