Love, Trepidation, and Paltry Verse…

She said ‘I love you’,

‘I know’, said I.

‘Why can’t you feel for me as I feel for you?’, she asked.

my words were knotted,

twisty and convoluted,
bereft of all passion,
devoid of all life,

I felt myself shrivel up and curl away,

Lost on the highways of past transgressions,

‘I love you’, she whispered.

I remained mute …

As mute as I am today,

merely scribbling verse on dead parchment,

Torn and broken and splintered,

While dreaming the elusive dream.

‘I want to tell you a secret’, she whispered in my ear as we lay on a sea of poppies,

‘I love you’, she said.

I was silent.

I still am….