Tilting my forehead into yours
tangling my fingers in your long silky black hair
raising my gaze to your sable eyes
trying not to notice
the single tear welling there
the last I will ever see
the last ever shed for me.
Yet I am aware that
the slightest nudge will free it
and with it, the final bit of your love
that piece you have hoarded jealously
in deference to my pain.
Still I can't leave it there
I need to take it too,
lightly caressing your nose with my cheek
until it spills forth racing drunkenly down your face
destined for extinction.
And as I have done
the thousand times before having hurt you
I bring my lips to yours as it crests there
catching the last part of you I will ever know,
closing my eyes and concentrating on
the sweet salt dissolving rapidly in my mouth
fighting to keep the memory of it,
ruthlessly reminded that
it dies as quickly as a lifetime of love is lost
