I would like
to forget you.
But your fingerprints
are now
carved
into my skin.
The imprint
of once having you
claiming me profoundly.

Your name
stains my lips.
Only to contaminate others.
I choke
on your absence
thick and lethal.

I whispered
that I love you.
But you wouldn't hear.
I said it
only in part
silence swallowing me whole.
Creating an abyss
of words
left unsaid.

Now it seems
that days are hallow.
I sit wringing
my tenacious hands
counting seconds
that slip
into unforgivable hours.