Venice

Today was a revelation

I stayed in the quiet lane

Of sleep 

And stillness

No words - just sounds

Plates from the neighbor 

Dogs barking

The engines of cars passing 

I am not here. I am in Venice.

I can still feel my heart, 

beating to the sound of your breathing 

A crooked pillow on a lumpy bed 

with all the words we've never said 

My ears on your chest 

With your arms around me

I am trapped in that memory

I don’t want to be anywhere else

Without you

So I stay

Long after you’ve gone, I’ll stay

In this .gif in my head

Where this fragmented image restarts

Right before you stir me awake

Right before you sit up and reach for your clothes 

Right before I start feeling that familiar, 
pounding panic in my chest

Right before I whisper, please stay. 

... and you don’t.