Member Poem

they said,
“the best way to retain
the spark of life in a relationship
is to not take it for granted”,
like keys before they're lost—
like breathing.
“instead, treat her
like an oasis in the desert,
love her like a mirage
you'll never capture;
covet her.
because the desire
is in the chase”,
they said.

i believed them.
it worked.

and that spark
bloomed explosions
like daisies caressing
the sun, the way
a nuke
goes off and leaves
every house for miles
vibrating & tingling
with its touch
& the vestiges
of its breath.

but what am i
supposed to do now?
what can anyone do
in the aftermath
of apocalypse?

i chase the sun
with bleeding palms
that cry for mercy,
pleading
with the ephemeral
divine, reaching
for the ungraspable
with unrequited
phone calls & roses
but what can i do?
tell me
what can i do
now that my love is
a sisyphean curse
and my thoughts are
a herculean hearse
filled with rot
as my memories return
with love unreturned
and my heart still burns
and the spark still bursts
and my heart still burns

and she still stays gone?