how will i ever learn to
remove the sadness
when i don’t know where
it starts and i begin?

the fire
slowly burned
around us
like the whiskey
that we drank
to ignore it.
we were always drunk,
not drunk on love
but drunk on the idea
that somehow
we could make it work.
let’s confess that
you can shift your gaze
away from the flames
as much as you please,
but you cannot
avoid the smoke
as you gasp for air.