My heart slows down gradually, becoming fainter and fainter till it’s almost gone. I watch you walk away from me, down the street, around a corner, and out of my life. My lungs don’t work properly; I cannot get oxygen past the sterling knife in my throat. I stare blankly after you, a child lost in the world. Rolling clouds are gathering, and I realize you aren’t there to lend me your coat if it rains. I am empty and hollow as the dried bones of this poor town that surrounds us. No feeling. Not yet anyway. Your breaking words are still like stones, heavy in my ears and in my shredded heart. As the water begins to fall from the sky, so do my tears; the color of the clouds, like bits of heaven falling down. A gaping hole opens up in my chest, and I beg it to suck me back in. back to the hellish places whence I came, back to the depths you pulled me from. I am on my knees, yet I do not recall my falling. Eyes blurred by tears, I see raindrops stain the cold unforgiving sidewalk, and thunder rolls in the distance. So here I’ll be. And here I’ll stay. Waiting for you always, in the pouring rain.