I waited for you

I walked for miles with worn ankles and shoulders burnt from the sun's gravelly rays

I waded in the shallowest grave of discernment

I struck matches against my fingernails

and drowned in solitude

I waited for you

pretending to be lighter than I am

more gawdy

more willing

pretending to know love like tendrils of muscle

the tempered underbelly

pretending to have feeling

I waited for you

When everything had gone grey from waiting

When the color bursted back into vermillion

When the world ended and nothing was left

When grass became chemical

I'd waited for you

Eyes blinded against the heat

And his lips promising me a tangible forever

I ran

I waited

I waited so long that it burned

so long that even after my mind diminished

this body remembered

to wait

to find you

to reach for you

even if your hand extended

from another liftime

I waited

I waited for you