the necessary purge:
a cleansing in the name of sleep,
an emptying of the heaviest burdens.
you weigh on me,
even when unconscious i can feel you burn:
circled around my shoulders
curled up like a python,
and my shame the heat that warms your bones.
the dreams don't come as often now,
the visions stay away.
is it true or is it false,
that some words must be said?
what's written can't be taken back,
self-righteous statements can't be deleted.
here i'm alone,
keeping vigil in the mirror
in my deep dark home:
tracing the slopes of my body,
cooling the surface of my skin.
your words, my words, my heat, your burn,
all symptoms of hearts that
beat too similarly to let each other be.
you are the gravel under my feet,
the inertia that keeps me stable.