it was no longer how long
she could whisper his name
into an empty phone
receiver ...

but

how long she bare the silence
of the dial tone before she
allowed her fingers to dial
the familiar digits

she was hard to please
not because she was picky

but

because she was unable to
tell people what she wanted
because she was ashamed of
her wants and needs

in her reality
she needed him
she wanted him
more than anything

a n y t h i n g

but to admit that she was human
and had wants and needs was almost
to absurd to attest to

but

he followed her none the less
watching her movements and the
way she swayed from side to side
ready to catch her the moment she fell

he crawled before her on all fours
swearing that his love was true
that the arms he had were solid and
that he was not driven by temptation

t e m p t a t i o n

she was too afraid to run away
but more afraid to stay

so in his arms she collapsed
taking a bound and a leap into
what she was so afraid of
the phoia of compassion and needs

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