I locked myself out of the house
again:
I thought it was an ordinary day,
Just like all the others previously;
I never knew how wrong I could be.

I retrieved the spare key
From behind the potted plant,
And proceeded to insert it
into the door . . .
But to my utter surprise & horror,
The key didn't fit anymore.

I knocked on the door -- hard,
And waited an eternity in the rain. . . .
However, the door remained shut,
And although I screamed your name
In abject loss and trepidation . . .
The door remained closed,
And you never came. . . .

It was then I remembered the fight
We'd had the previous morning:
All the shouting & arguing
that commenced afterwards;
And the dead look in your eyes--
The look of loss I will never forget.

The tears that were spilled,
and the abhorrent words . . .
The words that could never
be retrieved
In this lifetime or any other,
And I lost all feeling in my soul. . . .

I realized then with dawning horror
That some relationships just die. . . .
They are irretrievably lost forever
And no amount of wishing or hoping
Will turn the tide & bring them back.

I understood at that moment
What my heart had been trying,
But immeasurably failing, to tell me:
Love -- if taken for granted -- can die.
Sometimes something so precious
If pushed too far, can't last forever.

It was then that I left hurriedly,
Without looking back even once. . . .
I had been terribly afraid of never
seeing you again,
Until I remembered where
to find you . . .

I woke up then, with a scream
Of loss dying on my lips. . . .
I turned over and looked beside me,
And saw your enraptured face
Before my saddened, tearfilled eyes.

I was glad that the nightmare
was over!
I held you close to my side
Until the sun rose and the light
poured continuously in.

I was filled with longing & rapture.
Knowing that nothing could ever
separate us,
I kissed your lips passionately,
As your enduring & unfailing love
Warmed & ultimately thawed
my frozen heart.













© Kris Bailey
11-13-20