i hate the lonliness of your leaving

I hate the loneliness of your leaving…

I hate the loneliness of your leaving
the way your eyes will no longer look at me
as if already
you have forgotten
already
what we were is but a distant memory
-to be jogged now and then perhaps
by a smell or certain song
or remembrance of a shared joke-
but a memory, nonetheless
belonging to the past
while in my mind I can still see
the future you promised
my skin still burns
is still marked
by your touch
my lips still swollen
from your kiss
throbbing
even as you walk away

I hate the loneliness of your leaving
the knowledge
that what to you has been and gone
for me
is still fresh
still raw
And the healing
has yet to begin.