Dispensation

So did you lose him? He may have happened to you, Like a moment’s whim, Slipped through your fright, Like sands that defy your might, Your panicked fingers that hoped to stick; Or the fleeting flash of warmth across a cold, A cold unfeeling skyline; The page from literature you often leafed back to, Where the pen had scribbled your story, Your Lochinvar lapped in romance; Like the bruise daubed on your body, The stab wrenching a riddle on your bones. So how did you lose him? Suddenly? Like he screeched a brake and drew up the car, And opened the door for you, And asked you to step out? Refined. Gentlemanly. Desperately beseeching, Leave. Or did you lose him in bits and parts? Like the slow slackening of the tautest handcuffs; Did you lose him in pieces? While you sought to secure love, It leashed around his neck, Until even the dregs cried out, Desperately beseeching, Escape. What more did you lose with him? A part of yourself?