When he calls her to tell her,
She thinks it’s a mistake,
That surely, after all they’ve been through
All he’s said, this can’t truly be.
She’d built armor around her heart for a lifetime,
But for him, she stripped it away,
For him, with his generous love
His perfect kiss
His repeated promise that she could let go
She did,
And now she is drowning,
Slipping deeper into an ocean
Of murky waters
Flowing too fast into her windpipe,
Choking her as he cries and explains himself,
As he insists he loves her, but
He doesn't know what to do.
She is sinking,
Her heart frozen in time
A statue in the middle of a gloomy and cold winter landscape
That’s been sneaking in around them
So slowly, they didn’t notice
The frost dampening the air
For a long time now.
She thinks this as she hits the bottom,
Their love the burden carrying her
Down, down, down,
A body shifting with the current
Among silent tufts of algae
As the world at the surface of this ocean goes on
Without her.