I. LIKE A FORGOTTEN DREAM

A poem about dying love

When you love me and I love you
When our bodies and souls entwine
In the ultimate act
I know that I shall wake to find you,
And as I kiss your sleeping eyes
I shall pull you to me
And into my dreams

As our love grows and we are safely
Cocooned in our perfect lives
I know that you will be in my heart
For every hour of every day
And for every minute of every hour
I will be in yours

As we grow old together
And love becomes fondness
And fondness becomes habit
I will know
And then while you are knitting
A distraction found in wool and pins
I shall kiss your photograph
Along with your memory

When the only love that you can show me
Is the kind of love that a small girl
Would show to her raggiest rag doll
I will know
And then, while you are reading
I will pack my bags and leave them by the door

When finally all love for me has left you,
When all you can feel
Is indifference or disgust
I will know
And then, while you are sleeping
I shall slip away and leave your memory
Like a forgotten dream