An Exercise In Memory

I feel bad every time I see the young woman
at the burrito place by my work

because I always forget her name. It's not her
fault. Today I asked her again.

Madison is her name. She's quite pretty
and nice, at least as far as I know.

Walking down the street to see a band
this evening a young woman said hello

and asked if I was going to see one
of the bands. I told her I was.

She introduced herself as Carrie, though,
that might not be how she spells her name.

I chuckled on the inside when she wasted
no time in telling me she had a boyfriend.

I felt like telling her I have a girlfriend
but decided against it.

Once inside, and in-between bands,
I ran into a former co-worker. It took me

a few moments to remember his name
when he came up to me, but I remembered

his name: Jeff. He looked quite different
than the last time I saw him. His hair was long

and he sported a beard. A nice enough fellow
to have seen once more.

I walked over to the counter to buy myself
a drink, a diet soda, and told the heavily tattooed

woman I was digging the venue. We introduced
ourselves. Her name is Robin.

There is no point to any of this. I just wanted
try and put some effort

                                     into remembering a few
names for once.