THE LAST TIME

heaven falls at the thought of our end.

no one deserves to see that curtain drop,

least of all you and I.

in this clumsy waltz of our aching hearts,

between our trembling throats,

can we stay?

can we draw a ribbon around this moment and call it ours?

call it bittersweet purgatory, call it just five more minutes?

is this what it looks like to see you for the last time?

you always flinch when my voice crumbling into a cry,

so build me a dam of always and forever.

let me convince you to stay

untill the tremors soften into a still lake- face of knowing:

this is the last time you uncurl my pleading grip and place it back at my sink.

this is the last time you fish my name out of your chest and lay it at my feet like a meager peace offering.

this is the last time we wash ourselves in saltwater and 'sorry's.

we have both been baptized too often to know this won't save us.