I’ve loved your smiles, so much more than
You yourself ever loved them.

I’ve stirred you, your already radiant self,
With the intensity of my flesh.

Now, ousted from the reverie we shared,
We are trapped in a paralyzing nightmare.

We have to get off this path. We have to restore
The bloom that was once in our eyes.

Don’t turn your head. Don’t look back. I’ll fall from your grasp
I’ll fall back down into Hades, which is your memory.

Condemned to the span of a lifetime,
Time overflows its banks of days.

It’s them again
Appearance’s lovers,
Who shout out ‘love!’

It’s us again
Language’s lovers,
Who drown in our own
Delicate quiescence.

It’s me again
Enamored with reading
Who deciphers the sadness in your flesh

It’s you again
My eternal beloved
You who cannot be my beloved
In this, our earthly bit of time.