I prostrated in front of her
Kissing gently
The rises and fissures
Upon the back of her hand

There I rose
Late into the night,
By her bedside
I stared into her eyes

As she inched backward gingerly
I did not blink while whispering
Etching a promise into her bones
“I will not relent in my pursuit”

As I inched backwards into the sooty sordid mist of her mind
Lost forever into the dusk of time.