I like maps
Sometimes spread them across my room
Covering the floor and bed
Then study the curves and bends
Tracing the little lines of blue and black
Like when I explored your face

When snow collects outside the window
I close my eyes, become Sweden
As you bend like Norway
So once again you would be
Pressed against my spine
Two shapes fit to each other

I remember glancing up
At you while driving in circles
Just to get away
Could see in your eyes
You weren't here
Oh no, not this town, this state, this time zone

But you came back eventually
With an apologetic smile
A quiet, nervous laugh
You always left me hanging
In this small town
While off in your own world

You're actually gone now
Left my safe haven of strewn paper
And fully moved into a new world
One that doesn't just occupy your mind
Making your own maps
And following them with your feet

Lying on my map-covered floor
I place one finger where I've always been
And one across the line where you are now
Only inches apart
Close enough to reach out
To bridge the gap and touch

Then I remember the scale
Sitting down in the corner
Telling me inches are a hundred miles
Lines are boundaries
And I've no business
Attempting to cross either