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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.
Copyright ©
Saeed Koushan
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