I liked how you made me feel drunk-
my head would fill with cotton candy clouds
and thoughts that turned to smoke.

The wine went down easy
in little droplets of pure bliss,
sliding down our throats.

But there was an understanding we shared
from the very beginning
that this love could only be short-lived.

One day, the liquor didn’t go down easy anymore,
and it was hard and bitter like a shot of malört
with an aftertaste that lingered.

Until
         slowly
it faded away into nothing.

And the hurt wasn’t there anymore.