They might as well have been alone.
Circle of people orbited like irritant mosquitoes
To which the protected pay no mind.
She leaned forward to him
To touch his lips so gently.
He’ll kiss her back more fiercely, wanting to remind her
That she’d be missed in this yearlong stretch of nightmare.
She said, “I know you hate this part,
“But you can’t just kiss away the difference.”
He turns to leave her anyway.
She’s just too wise for him to handle.
He sees life in terms of distance.
Measures time by the retreat of bleeding sun rays on earth
Well he could describe the sunset for her now.
She sure would think it beautiful tonight,
But then, she might guess where he was
What he was thinking.
For writing allows the individual to safety and quietly fall apart
Letting the paper catch the pieces of ink
He just couldn’t risk that she’d see his heart
In this sorry sad state that it’s become.
Not realizing she cries every night he’s gone.