Warm, pliant lips pressed against
Her eyelids, her left cheek, the corner of her mouth.
I love you.
So softly, barely breathed
He whispered in the air between them
Which was only theirs.
The cold seeped through her clothes, through her marrow
And she wanted him closer.
Closing her eyes (please, don’t cry – never cry)
She built her walls
I cannot do this. I –
The cold came back with a vengeance,
Making her heart brittle and her blood freeze;
Suddenly she feared it would break her.
But he chased it away, as he always did
With a hand touching her face almost
– Almost reverently
As if to memorize her features.
I’m sorry (I’m sorry that all I have to give is anguish)
Their eyes locked and he said nothing,
As though he knew, knew
Of the secret sorrows that bled form her soul.
She searched his gaze
And found the destruction she had caused.
Beautiful,
How could she have destroyed something so utterly beautiful?
Forgive me.
Cold, trembling lips met hers
In a lingering kiss so devastatingly perfect
It tore her apart.
I love you.
He breathed against her lips
In the air between them that was no longer theirs.
And she walked away
Before it could consume her completely,
Before she could no longer tell
Where she ended and he began.
She walked away,
Form everything she’d ever wanted,
And let the bitter cold consume her instead,
For she was too afraid to let herself be loved.
Forgive me.