How many years
Will it take for me
To be free of you?
How much longer
Must I endure
The hollowness
You left behind?
The dull ache
That settled itself
Into my being?
The way smoke
Settles itself
Between tightly woven
Strands of cotton.
Will this never end?
Will the abhorrent fragrance
Of smoke-sullied clothing
Stay with my forever?
The way I wish
You had.