I catch myself looking at him
and wondering if there is still a glimmer
of hope for us in his eyes.

It is your birthday
and my heart hurts,
I want to kiss you
but I know it’s forbidden now.

When I was a girl
I would always go for the most marvelous
flowers at the local garden to bring home,

And my mother would say to me:
“No, those won’t last. You must get the ones that have yet to bloom, in time they will become even more beautiful.”

I believe this could have been a metaphor,
for us
If only you’d have let it.

I can’t do this;
Exist with you, not existing with me.

Stay.
Stay.
Stay.