Given

It starts with butterflies fluttering:
Tickling my tummy,
Exploring my everything.
I forget to breathe around you.
You silhouette from the corner of my eye
Your voice cutting across the noise
The brush of air when you walk past me
I recognize you in my waking dreams.

Your eyes smile in my direction
Flowers blossom when our fingers meet,
A soft breeze pushes us closer
My heart struggles to escape to you.
Colors explode in my monochrome existence;
Heralded by your gentle nudge,
The fledgelings that nestled inside me
Take flight into the vast azure unknown.

Our familiarity grows further
The unbearable heat soothed by your touch.
We melt together, bonds forged anew.
Days flash past in our stillness
Sustained by the warmth in our hearts.
You voice, like cascading water,
Becomes my meaning in life.
You are mine as I’m yours forever.

The promise of an eternity together
Whispered by our careless lips
Binds us in place as the world races ahead.
You captivate my senses with a glance
My doubt disappears when I’m in your arms.
We change colors; lost emotions overflow.
Tears rain on our intertwined bodies
My heart stretched beyond its limit.

The spell breaks in the blink of an eye
Your echoes freeze me in place
As you walk away without a goodbye.
My shattered heart scatters at my feet,
Grating against my escaping soul
As I navigate a world of strangers.
An endless path unwinds before me,
The map long abandoned in your embrace.

It ends with vines tightening on me:
An eternal struggle to understand
Why I chafe against thorns on my skin.
I remember the foggiest memories vividly.
You face on everything I see
Your laugh in an empty room
Your phantom hands in mine
You haunt my waking nightmares.

— —

Written in October 2019