It sped by. Calm and oblivious,
it rushed away like rivers do --
why rivers? And it stole
you away from me. There was
something at first, a tenderness
in you I thought I could tickle and kiss,
and put a meaning on the word
love.
But I lost it, if it was ever
there at all. Time -- or
maybe just the two shadows
towering over your life --
slapped you and hit you
so hard your skin grew shell-thick
sturdy and impenetrable.
Tenderness: gone. I miss it,
if it was ever there at all.