The ring on my finger,

The lump in my throat - 

Staring out a bus window; the sun in my eyes both ways

Rising and setting with you

Every single day.

The tears sit on the edge,

Never to fall or dry - 

You’re everywhere; yet nowhere all at once

It’s not a cord or a rope

It’s a chain of steel. 

I’ve broken it before,

Yet I came back - 

I want to run again; the uncertainty suffocates me

It’s safe to tell me

It will make me stay.

The dualities are freezing,

To feel and know this love - 

Only to never stand firm; always on shaky ground

You could have set me free

That steel keeps me tethered.

The tie that won’t break,

Can’t be severed - 

Too precious to trust; terrified of falling

The mirror we stare into

Both refused to blink first. 

I wither on the vine,

As I did before - 

I do not run toward or away; I simply wait

For I know the truth

A chain and a shackle. 

You know that I know,

I was told enough - 

A test to be sure; hot coals to walk

The chain is strong

I simply wait for you.