Night already fell
and my sun-kissed arms reach for the sky.
I stretch my taut body
with the foolish hope of lifting the darkness from the horizon.
I know it’s an impossible task,
but as you note,
I am determined
even when failure is absolute. 

I sense that you don’t love me the way you said you did,
the way I always thought you would:

natural
unexpected
whole

The late-spring humidity 
rests on my unshowered skin.
You head to bed
and I mindlessly flip through late-night television.
The screen flickers
and illuminates my face
with an endless wave
of fleeting images.

I resist the urge to
sleep next to you because
all I can wonder is
if you still desire my clammy touch.

Young love;
that’s how I remember it.