We said forever
in the genuine hope
of touching eternity,
as if the protection of vague vastness
could wrap separate
the cold shiver of parting.
But here the nakedness of separation
shows falsity
peeping through, not as a lie
but a laying bare
of unsafe promises,
the risk lining commitments
we don’t understand.
And no, I am not leaving
but neither can I stay here unchanged
or ask the same of you.
We trail our fingertips softly
in the presence of a shifting now
that offers only the solace
we can bear to feel,
and offer up with the next breath.
And oh! I am grateful
for your bravery,
the ways you allow me to tremble
and still be here,
the ways you let me in
to see your shaking.