I am a hopeless romantic.
That isn't to say I don't believe in love
But rather I find myself perched high above
Looking down on it.
As if there's something wrong with it,
As if the siren's song has quit,
Has lost it's allure;
No longer demure, but somehow obscure,
I look down as if it's impure
and I'm unsure why
we've let love die.

As if the idea of forever
Was ripped from me
And all that's left
Are fleeting memories,
preconceived ideas of what constitutes the eternal bond of

Tracing eachother's dichotomy into your muscle memory
The shape of their face, the texture of their skin, the curve of their lips
Recalled by brushing fingertips

or

The promises made when two mouths meet
Chemicals called bliss, cut bittersweet
Because parting is such sweet sorrow
And so you sprint towards tomorrow
Hoping that as you race
You'll find that place
Where you're as breathless as before
As restless as before
To explore life

And you collapse on opposite ends of the world
Hurled to bed
Dreams don't dare disturb your head
Because reality is finally enough.

This irreverent flame
Has been replaced by fickle games

It all seems empty.

I feel like I'm going through the motions.
Adrift on some tide in the ocean
Intermittent waves of love, labor, loss,
Each one with compounded cost
Greater than the one before
And I just wish I could come ashore
And stop drowning.

People throw pennies into wells
And wish for their dreams
I throw a flame in the sea
And wish to for the reams
Of uncertainty to unfurl.

I don't want this love.
This consistent inconsistency

There's something about romance I can't help but be
Attracted to
And this **** isn't it.

It's not as if the experiences aren't real
But the substance isn't there
The idea to me is surreal:
Love without care.

I just can't do modern love.
It's as if you're caging a thousand doves
Asking them to sing
Clipping their wings
Then releasing them from a cliff
And asking them to fly
Then turn around
As you leave them to die;

A plummet towards the fish in the sea,
But as we plummet, we just might see
A few flames drifting idly past
Fading flickers fighting to last
And reignite our ideas of love
Ashes to life, Phoenixes from doves.