my footsteps have traced this path
early many mornings
in the ashen sky before dawn
as i leave you in the empty bed

a sleeping dog; i cannot let you lie
your teeth pierce my skin
i am punctured
i leak failure regret and pain
i am surprised that the acid pouring from my eyes
the salt, has not marked the ground
seared through, burnt into it as it has to me.

though i see you every day
you are absent from your shell
i am left
clinging to false memories
struggling to make the pieces of two different puzzles fit
we contrast
the image stumbles
blunt cardboard edges fraying

my layers are visible, exposed, rusting away.
again i am wrong, again i have failed
again i return
purely simply sadly

attempting to cross the broken bridge
and touch your smile again.