"September, III" by Giovanni Dania

September, III

A pool of blood congealed underneath you,
On the kitchen floor; I know, I saw it:
I stood there watching the light fade
From your surprised eyes as you writhed
In incomprehensible pain:- my face was blank.
I didn't want you to take any answers
From me, I wanted your soul to suffer in askance.

You probably wondered why I stabbed you,
Why I slashed at you, burned your flesh
With the bittersweet tang of a sharp blade.
I never had expressed anything but the
Most carefully Platonic... appreciation.
I never told you I hated you, or worse,
That I loved you.

And the time, it passes;
I can hardly remember your face,
Just your smirk, your patronizingly smug smile.
But I smile now.

I smile now, on dark sleepy rooftops,
The wind caresses my hair with cool, soft fingers.
I ponder as I gaze at the sprawling urban landscape,
I shiver at the thought of finding another,
And of not telling her
How much
I love her.

September 14, 1999