it had seemed like he didn’t even care,
as if her presence meant nothing to him.
he had known her love was ever so rare,
but like a candle, he let it fall dim.

she knew it was wrong to let this go on,
so she told him she was ready to leave.
he laughed and told her to leave after dawn,
that he’d help her move, but never grieve.

as the sun rose, she could taste her freedom.
she was prepared to escape his tight reins.
he watched her walk and realized he was dumb.
he was feeling her loss inside his veins.

his heart broke as hers was starting to heal.
no more “together”, life alone was real.