A fruit shaped candy as an icebreaker, an open heart, a promise in the making, a gift of tied-up, bright felt flowers, a general store, a half-dozen for a dollar, a day of gold, eyes sky blue, time divided into "Before You" and "After You", an original film cell from a Marvel movie, a deep, long kiss to tell you I love it, a crumpled mess made of it after an hours long argument, an angry wound on a swollen knee, you needing help and looking at me, me needing help with a bone level throbbing, your sketchpads, my notebooks, our jawing and jotting, a night of cooling humors, arrogant tempers, the hottest, most humid season on record, an asset unalloyed, taken in the spirit of gift giving, wordplay at cross-purposes, reckless proclivities encouraged, an obvious impossibility, a mind that flatly rejects it, a symphony, a sugaring, a cross-pollination, a run-through of a monologue about why we're destined always to drift apart, a rebuttal of the whole premise, bigger plans than ever for the muse you still are, a calendar flipping fast, another year of vacillating, gone quicker than a daydream in the clamor of dishes shattering, breakfast in bed, seasoned with glass shards and floored, a broom and dustpan, mop and bucket, hope a dirigible unmoored, a fevered fight, a washcloth wrung, your sweat rolling through the lines on the palms of my hands, proof we're still connecting, a qualified agreement, a gathering up of each other, sharing a bit of breath work, clutching a bit of zen, you siding with me against spiritual sabotage, a peace offering of acknowledgement, a stare right past me, perched on your sickbed, cropped from a picture you're already amending, an eleventh hour optimism, a pretense too far for fetching, beer bottles clinking that long ago summer, a toast to imbroglio and excess, a vital vibe we knew we had, never knowing how long it would last, offering up love without agreeing on how much, a spirit splinted, your graceful, slender back, my guts all akimbo watching you go, as you sprint to a cab, a ripping down the middle, a sectioning, a me staying behind without you, a me breaking ranks to keep you in view, a lot to say, more to cut, a thousand gossipy, wagging tongues, a construction paper valentine like they pass out in grade school, a racy, scribbled salutation on it from someone new who's a version of you, a time to move on, a troubled past to unbind, a truth told to taunt, a well-timed, harmless lie, another chance I refuse to miss out on right after it's gone, a scheme I dare not dream, a road lit bright by starlight, a full head of steam, an innocence amputated from sordid, sinful lives, me still pedestaling you, you admitting you don't hope I die, what joyful generosity, this meeting each other where we live, a show seasoned, shut down, revivaling, the best it's ever been
