I have to learn how to let go, 

unwilling to fade away with you,

if this is how we'll scream, 

pull the air from my lungs.

I'd rather just be left alone 

in the enveloping dark

to no longer carry the flame, 

the torch that could once ignite 

entire valleys and mountains, 

snuffed out the moment I could sense you

Pulling away one fragment at a time,

first noting the distance, 

the hesitation in your voice.

I can feel the tiny vibrations 

when your head rests 

on my chest and you speak, 

the gradual subtle changes lacing familiar chords, 

the welling tears in your eyes becoming lonely 

ripples in beautiful mysterious oceans, 

the fleeing warmth of your body

beneath the blankets leaving me as a still glacier.

And there are times I almost 

want a lie to consume me, 

to draw blood from each stone.

But fiction is even more dangerous 

than learning how to let go, 

unwilling to place these coins over my eyes, 

if this is how we'll drift, 

pull your hands away from my face now.

I'd rather just forget what inexplicable 

pull brings me to you and be left 

in the steadfast dark to no longer sway 

with the dancing flames, 

the torch that could once evaporate 

entire frozen lakes and rivers 

snuffed out the moment I could sense

You're intoxicated with another bloom, 

one petal at a time, 

first noticing the shivering, 

the withdrawal from my touch.

I can feel the pockets of heat closing off 

between us when we share a bed, 

the crushing subtle changes in the chords, 

the way close bodies can become lonely 

glaciers drifting in beautiful mysterious oceans 

slowly fleeing and finally letting go.