Stifling. Silent. Still.
No footsteps down the aisle
No bells. An empty ring.
A warmth I haven't felt in a while

I broke into them in our living room
"They're perfect," you said
With a gentle caress to my knee
And a delicate kiss on my forehead

But now they're collecting dust
By the mirror, where they sit
The laces have worn out
And the soles barely fit

I had it all pictured in my mind
The vows. The kids. The locks of gray.
Like a dream so close to my reach
But I just couldn't make you stay

Stifling. Silent. Still.
Like the heels I'll never wear
Empty. Eerie. Erased.
It was like you were never there

I once built a house with bricks and stones
Poured my blood, breath, and my bones
The walls were painted marble white
Not a stain or mess in sight

I once built a house with my heart as a door
With all the love and memories in its core
The rays of sun, through the window they stream
I feel as if I'm in a dream

But the big storm came, and it all broke down
The sky cried tears, and the leaves turned brown
The cracks traced their way onto the wall
The eerie silence settled in the hall

I once built a house so full of life
But now it's tainted with venom and strife
The wind blew out the remains of my home
Along with all the love I've ever known

letters that blur in my mind
syllables I can't seem to find
three words I once held on my tongue
so often, from when we were young

and it was like a stranger I once knew
so different, another version of you
or what is it just the same?
I just can't remember your name

A touch of warmth lingering on my hand
a missing footprint on the sand
was it or was it not,
a name that I forgot

and time is a cruel mastermind
leaving fragments of a memory behind
of a love I cannot bear
of something—someone—who was once there