I am haunted by memories
so dated and fake
remembering your face
the night you drowned in the lake
the way your hair tangled and laced
pruned fingers and bloated hands
your eyes long gone black
the final grains of sand
your brow already slack
"you promised me an always"
I mumbled, quietly
your body upwards lay
floating in the sea
through puffed cheeks
I could've sworn I saw
the words I so seeked
move from your jaw
"I'm sorry," you said
"we had a merciful end,
but long since I've been dead
at my will you should not bend"
and I understood now
all you meant and said
the permission you allowed
words replayed through my head
and I found a way to let you go