The Imitation Of Shelter.

You speak without words

soft in the dark between thoughts

offering safety

stitched from old promises

that unraveled in your hands

Yes, I feel the pull

to stay, to be seen, to rest

in arms that mimic

the shape of love

but not its weight

You say he won’t come

You say you can love me more

But it is not you

who keeps the fire lit

Not you

who broke the silence

and called me back

from the sleep of forgetting

What you offer

might let me live longer

but only half-alive

a flicker behind borrowed glass

tethered to the dream

of safety without purpose

So I bless you

and turn away

toward the dying

that leads me home.