Leaving

I am the monomaniac who masticates edges of my own mandible to keep from swallowing you whole… I feel the hunger crawl through me, a hot hellish hold— pressing its way out of my ribs. —but I stay still— I…hold my breath, swallowing the gravity that could crush your chest. There is no tenderness in me, only the gnashing of teeth— I hide behind silences and undergrowths where you cannot hear the growls that yearn to rip through your skin— the maw that wants to possess you— the need to keep you burning in my guts forever. … This is trying—I remind myself— —by Leaving— you cannot be eaten… if I never come near enough to sink my teeth in. I Leave—I abandon—I ghost— the demon flees! The one that would claw your throat open— the Choke Pear that could maim more than your miserable mouth! The only chasms between us now are of distance—but you do not understand! I don’t reach for you—I won’t reach for you… —because I Love You— and Leaving is the only good thing I know how to Give.