IN THE BACK OF THE CLOSET

I stumble upon
A heart-shaped box
Thrown in the back of the closet
Hiding a dead corsage
And a golden locket

And a picture I drew of you
Back in '82
And some 4-for-a-dollar
Photo booth
Pictures of us
We're kissing in one
And we look truly in love

*************************

TO HAVE LOVED AND LOST

Is it better to have loved and lost
Than to have never loved?
Before I loved I knew not his kisses,
But for my dreams...
And spent hour upon hour
Wondering of his taste
Now I've known of his sweetness,
A sweetness more sweet than ever imagined
And I must go on aware that
Never again will I know the warmth of his kiss
Nor the taste of his lips
My soul was more complete
Before I knew his love,
For my soul dances
Nevermore

*************************

UNREQUITED LOVE

You are all I want and need
But I do not know how to reach you
I try so hard to enter your life
And just when I think you feel
The same as I
You disappear
And I only want you more
And the want becomes a need
I can't live without
I am tired of smiling
And feigning happiness
While my heart breaks
And my soul dies
Of unrequited love

*************************

PASSION UNRETURNED

He broke my heart
With passion unreturned
I existed in darkness
With a sorrow that could not be
Consoled with tears

I pour out my soul on paper
Ream upon ream
Setting myself free
And the last remnants of our love
Become art

*************************

YOU WON'T REMEMBER

We cannot go back to being friends
I wanted to be a part of your life forever
But now you love her
She is the one who will bear your children
The one you will grow old with
The one you will share your life with
What are our few moments
Once you have loved her for decades...
Slowly I will fade from your memory
And you won't remember
What it felt like
To love me

*************************

YOU LEFT

You loved me more than you were
Ready to love
So you left
To forget me
Now you are so far away you can't
Hear my tears
But not far enough away for me to
Stop loving you
So I cry silent tears
Heard only by my heart

*************************

PASSED

We lived on time
That was not ours
And now the hour has
Passed...

*************************

BROKEN

Broken promises and a broken heart
All locked in a box
And pictures of you
And a strand of your hair
And a broken locket
And memories

Perhaps someday I will be able
To look inside
And not cry

*************************

A RAZOR AND A KEY

You've taken all your shirts
From my closet
No car magazines
Clutter my coffee table
And the Playboys
You thought were hidden
Are gone too
But I've kept your razor
That I hid while you packed
Along with your spare car key
You think I've kept these things
Out of spite
But I couldn't let you
Leave my life
Without so much as a trace

*************************

THEN YOU LEFT

I lived life carefree
'Til I met you
You set my feet on the ground
And I loved the feeling of...
Belonging

Then you left

And I wait for the loneliness
To start feeling like freedom