Shhhh, I said, as I touched my finger to her lips

Let me share a secret, an impart, a tip

A gentle lie or a subtle truth

It’s a story about vanity, and youth

You see, there was you, and me

And in between, a life that could never be

An agreement between friends

And a pledge that we could not assail

But ultimately it was me, don’t you see?

I could never let go, I could never perceive

Oh how I tried though, I swam into the waves,

And you just smiled, when I returned, all out of brave

There were times when I would imagine you, watching me

And I would imagine myself, just standing there

Looking contemplative and alluring

I would dream you filled with desire, looking at me

My heart, my soul, my mind, my being

Drinking me in, biting your lip, anticipation

And then I imagined me, oblivious to your needs

Obscuring and hiding, even denying water, to those seeds

I must have died a thousand times, drowning in the vanity