Fragment of a Burning

Your voice cuts through my morning thoughts, While coffee grows cold in my hands. I memorize each word you speak— How foolish love can make demands. You mention rain and subway delays, Small troubles that fill up your day. I turn them into precious things, Though you mean nothing that you say. My friends show pictures of their dates, While I rehearse what I might tell The empty space beside my bed Where dreams of you rise and fall. The laundromat becomes a stage When you appear with clothes to fold. I watch you sort your colors out And wish my heart were half as bold. You ask about my weekend plans With kindness that I read too deep. I build a castle from your smile, Though promises you'll never keep. The bookstore where we sometimes meet Has shelves that hold my silent prayer: I study how you pause and speak, And wish you'd see me standing there. Today you mentioned someone new Who makes you laugh at work each day? I practice smiling while my heart Learns how to fade and slip away. Tonight, I'll walk familiar streets And carry what I've always known: That love unreturned burns brightest When we tend the flame alone.