before we were strangers

the illusion
is that you are simply
a girl,
far from flawless
but still so gorgeous
the reality
is that I can simply
feel this love
turn cold

here I am,
where we last stood so close to each other
I swear,
I thought I could smell
a future together
radiating off your skin
our final setting Sun's warm kiss
felt on our cheeks
and my happiness
bites the plums of your mouth
and walk between lips and lips
along the shore
of sand and salt of roaring waves
as the wind passes
the glassy eyed
light of day

here I am,
where we last breathed the same air
the path trails off
and advances into sweetness
to take root in thunder
until the pulse
of your interlocked and tangled
hand in mine
have gone silent
in my dreams
I brought you happy flowers
and rustic buckets of soft kisses
from the hills
until even I
believed that you own the Universe

here I am,
where we last made plans together
thinking we would get that far
I loved the way you said my name,
like you're treasuring
every curve
and every line
before the nights melt into days
and the days
collapsed into nights
I loved your feet even more
only because they walked
upon the earth
beyond its mud and its filth
until they found me

here I am,
alone
my weeds are overgrown
and this is no place to call home
my heart searches for her
but what does it matter
the night is already shattered
and my love could not keep her
with me
my soul
is not satisfied that it has lost her
and though this may be
the last pain I suffer
and these,
the last verses I write for her,

here I am,
no longer in love
I pace around hungry,
your hands the color of a fierce harvest
and the stars live within the lining of your skin