Lover, you were a hurricane

A tornado

The typhoon to explain why some sailors never made it home

And I used to call you mine

And I used to call you after work

 

And I used to hold your hand

Like I was guiding the wind on by

I used to kiss you

I used to look into your eyes and get swept off my feet every time

But now I’m just afraid of the breeze

Of the one gust that will blow me away

 

Because sometimes when you get knocked off your feet,

The wind doesn’t catch you

More often than not you will fall

You will fall so hard

And so fast

And no amount of raindrops on your cheek

Will save you from this

 

And the world can feel so big

And can make you feel so small

Like the planet is an empty vase without your smile

And no amount of tears can fill it up again

And the cracks creeping up the sides

Will drain it before you ever get close

 

But lover, I was a tree

Holding onto the earth

Afraid you might burn me

Afraid of your lightening flash temper

And so afraid of losing you

Hoping your heart would find root next to mine

Hoping all of our winters would be spent waiting til summer

Together

 

And together is such a tragic word

Since it’s the promise most often broken

Right after “forever”

And both of those promises you made to me

Or said to me

And maybe words don’t mean as much to you as they do to me

 

But lover, I am a poet

I am a writer of the winds

Of hurricane and tornadoes

And all the things they can destroy

So when I write your name in a poem someday

That’s when you will know

I have finally stopped loving you.