Stripped and polished

I left my shoes on your patio. I gathered my belongings - handbag, lipgloss and heart - and left you for the evening. The day has painted itself into the vibrancy of my mind; the fertility of my imagination has begun to twist and morph your words into mutter. I feel they have become the tourniquet of my heart as their imprint brands me, and leaves me with a day to organize their meaning. I asked you about forever, and you responded with that wordless grin that so infamously distinguishes your character. You remind me of my immaturity. My imperfections. My earnest and overwhelming devotion. I feel that I look at you with the hopeful eyes of a child - eager. Expectant. You know me well, and manipulate my heart effortlessly. Your voice hangs like velvet, caressing my ears and pumping lullabies into my soul. I believe you. I listen to you. I love you. I close my eyes, and I breathe you. Questions burn deep; they scratch at the surface of my sanity and beg for release. Her presence has pickled my mind. I clothe the subject of my insecurity in trivial conversation. Conversation that pertains to anything and nothing at all. The anvil of deceit drowns me; it strips away faith and security and leaves me naked with my imagination. I fumble words, and trip over mistaken phrases. I scramble for the poetry that has become my adoration for you. But for once, language fails me.

I left my shoes on your patio - I just needed a moment to breathe. I would have lingered on your doorstep, but this evening is inviting my current state of confusion. In solitude, I meticulously arrange the thoughts that always seem to scatter in your presence. In solitude, I allow the notion of forever to tiptoe between those thoughts and pirouette its beauty from my lips. Whispered lullabies surround me and tame the wildfires of mistrust; I believe you. I listen to you. I love you. I close my eyes, and I breathe you. In the blankness of this night I feel you. Regardless of her presence - her name tattooed in my brain - the affection for you is apparent. It screams at you from the redness of my cheeks, from the brilliance of my smile, and from the softness of my kiss. My love is so obvious, and shameless. So now I ask you about forever, and at last you concede.