I cracked open my chest in front of the mirror

Dug around for the light switch

I found your sweater thrown over one of my ribs

and a note you had left on my heart in sharpie

‘I was here’

Though, i know you meant ‘will always be’

This stampede in my hollow bones
A craving for something I know has been here before
I will run laps outside trying to get rid of it until I collapse on the sidewalk
I grit my teeth in my sleep
I have a dream of you there, standing on the stage like a marionette to a one man crowd
Holding a lantern containing a flame I can feel from the front row
I will hold my breath out of fear
Yours will be the one to blow it out
And you will spend the rest of the performance trying to light it again
A chill that only I can feel will consume the auditorium
You are senseless
I do not know whether to laugh or cry
I cannot applaud you now
Not anymore
I wake to the imaginary weight of your dog on my chest
I spend the day collecting flowers to toss at you