the words stick in my throat like
honey in a spoon
coating my tongue and teeth
threatening to trip them up
on words like untied shoelaces
and fallen tree branches
as you reach through the phone
with spring blossom fingers
and dig cavities into my chest
looking for the heart that
you know sits underneath
in your wake lies regret
icy like melted snow
running down mountainsides
through creeks and ravines
chasing the cold winter air
and tugging warm spring behind it
with a noose of daisy stems
and i feel the newborn grass drop out
from beneath my bare feet
at the sound of your raw voice
traveling a distance too short
for me, and too long for you
and i tell you through my mouthful
of honey
that i do not regret it
for a single second
and i had more to say
but my jaws are glued shut
with sickly sweet resin
it is a miracle that i can
force them open long enough
for a 'good night'
and if you are disappointed
that i did not say more
i am not sorry
for refusing to force
my tongue and teeth
to say things i do not mean
to say to you
even if the words would
make you smile
that is not my lot in life
and maybe one day i can
try once more to be at ease
with the sound of your voice
in a small cellphone speaker
but for now
i will swallow thickly
around my mouthful of honey
and bid you
a bittersweet
farewell