A simple golden band
full of promises.
So often unworn
to protect its fragile nature,
now a phantom reminder things lost.

Locked away to help forget,
but my thumb still absently rubs
the place it use to rest.
A memory of five long years
connected by smiles and featherlight kisses,
laughs, tears, and frustrations,
disappointments and disconnections,
leading to that final break
of a home thought to last till death.
That warm band now stone cold
telling more than words ever could
of love abandoned and forlorn.

A band now used in deceit
to fool potential mates,
rather than the symbol
it's suppose to be.
But still it brings pain
to the mind
of what could have been
of what should have been
of what would have been.