drag the riverbed looking for traces of you

just need a clue

dna swabs across every inch of razor wire woven into a still beating heart

a fool proof alibi proof of a fool’s intent

tracks leading off into the woods

scraps of cloth torn and hanging on thorns

feel sick

nauseated

the thought of living without your radiance

a ball of tar bubbling into gastrointestinal distress

been telling myself these lies

convincing no one

still smell your perfume wafting on the breeze

hear your voice in the rustling leaves

wake up in the middle of the night thinking you are back

walk into the living room

but you aren’t there

the part of you that is part of me is dying day by day

hollowed out like a chocolate bunny

left in the sun

a puddle on the couch with no will to reform into the caricature of a fully functional being

lightning flashes in my cranium

illuminating the crime scene

chalk outlines and tags everywhere

broken mirrors and bloody kisses

waiting on a ransom note

cut out letters demanding payment for safe return

just a matter of time until pieces of you come via courier

a jigsaw puzzle of adoration

patchwork reminiscence

stocking up on bandages and super glue

i will put you back together my love

took down your picture and scribbled a poem on the back so you would see it when you turn around looking for me

see your face in every crowd

hear your voice in every whispered plea to an uncaring universe

crawling across broken glass

screaming until my vocal chords are raw

the evidence is evident

the alibi of an airtight case

another heartfelt pledge

a felt heart soaked in gasoline

one match and nothing but time

burnt and charred memories

an innocent man sentenced to death by a thousand unspoken words

last rites administered by the catatonic priest with better things to do

final thoughts on the curve of your delicate throat

your fingers entwined with mine

and hopeful for blissful nothingness

just a still image of a crime scene

flashing lights outside the window trigger a search and seizure as i drop to the floor

convulsions and withdrawals in sweating and vomiting fits

flip the photo and see what has been scrawled behind your back

flourished with invisible ink stains

another unheard ode

unspoken and unbidden

emotional manslaughter

throw the book of love at the criminal scum

and watch his lips move as he reads the words he failed to grasp

a lack of knowledge

handcuffed by loss

the case of the vanishing heartbeat from the open chest of secrets

guilty of love in the first degree of separation