when does an 'i love you' die?
how many years later is the expiration date?
or can i still hold you in check for
what you said three years ago,
five years ago, when you said forever?
i was a rock, a solid foundation of
hope and encouragement,
and you ranged wide around me.
you were an explosion of youth and power,
and i was a basalt tower,
high and black and irreproachable.
when did those words, when did
that look in your eyes become
out of date? when did you lose responsibility
for coming home to the girl who waited,
who watched and waited and stayed
in one place but never stagnated?
oh, you are so happy now,
and probably never think of me,
and all i can do is wish that
i could remind you of those words
and those promises that youth
made in heat, and time made you forget.