I swore to everyone

(Mostly myself)

That I’d give up nothing

For, after all, this was not meant to last.

Or to even begin in the first place—

All the bright joys of the present

Too-easily obscured

In all eyes, not mine alone

By years of bitter loss and longing

(Did I mourn a lost friend

Love or both?

My memories now

Are not to be trusted.

In any event)

And now…now what is this?

A greater freedom

Than ever known before

But it comes with a bond, a leash and collar.

Ask a bird

If the cage is to its liking…

Ah, but it’s nothing like that

(Hopeful idealistic phrases

I try to make all doubts lie still

But years of loneliness

And watching others’ pain

Have taught me too well).

I revel in this now—

A happiness not known since true innocence…

And then…

Years pass

Will it be as beautiful then?

As freeing; farther outside this world

Than in, of it?

(No need to think of this now

With everything so shiny and new-minted…)

And meanwhile…

Will I, you, be lost

In this one new entity we’ve created

Of our two selves?

Lost in each other; pleasant

Only until

We both tear away

Gasping for air

(We’re nothing like that, them

The majority of our race…

When did we learn to exalt ourselves so?)

Humility, charity—

Perhaps everything’s as flawless

As in most moments, it seems…

How could it be otherwise—

Knowing, beyond every petty doubt and question

That we were intended for each other

Long before our births

Which is more than most may say.