I am still in our bed
I am still counting
your footsteps that faded hours ago
and where you placed
your fingers on me
is still burning like it’s
known death too soon.
Ages ago we were
somewhere in moonlight
decoding one another
and your spine was the most beautiful braille
so I’d close my eyes
inhale your literature
and sing out all your best stories.
I was never aware
that I was becoming illiterate
instead I woke
to the same old sunlight
and suddenly the tides of your breath
were leaving me
empty as the words that had stopped forming.
There is no you
on my lips anymore
just some old story
that has hardened on my tongue
and I am desperate to forget
it was seven
seven footsteps that carried you away from me.
Nicole Marie
wordsandotherthings.wordpress.com 
“and your spine was the most beautiful braille” Love that. xox
Thank you so much 🙂 xo
This is such a beautiful and romantic poem, leaves me longing and sad at the same time. Your words are so soft yet so intense and your expressions so vivid. I don’t know what else to say to describe how much I like it ❤
Thank you very much Hector, your comment is very kind 🙂
Simple yet powerful! Love it! 🙂
Thank you!
Gorgeous!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much!
“and suddenly the tides of your breath
were leaving me”
The absolute ache in those words. Beautifully done, my dear.
Thank you, thank you ❤
spine like braille…the use of literacy. simply brilliant! this is, so far, my favorite this week.
Ah! Thank you, Renada! 🙂
Spine like Braille and being decoded are examples of your brilliant use of imagery. As someone that tends to struggle with “show not tell” I’m your latest fan! Beautiful, romantic, sad – you have woven such a delicate spidersweb of words here! Good job!
You flatter me! Thank you so much! I’m very happy you enjoyed this piece, thank you for stopping by!
Wow, very, very good! I like this one very much. Especially the spine line, like all the others here like as well it seems 🙂
I love that everyone seems to like that line!! Thank you 🙂
I really enjoyed reading about how she sings their story, but then the ending, ‘hardening on her tongue, the same ol’ story’, very detailed and wonderful flow from one emotion to the other.
http://myconstantthought.blogspot.com
Thank you very much, Donetta. I’m glad you enjoyed this piece. 🙂
“decoding one another / and your spine was the most beautiful braille”
Love the imagery here. Lovely piece.
Thank you, Megan!
Your structure and punctuation work so well, allowing the words to flow uninterrupted, bringing the reader through the currents of the emotions. Very powerful.
Thank you for such kind words! That means a lot to me – I’m very glad you enjoyed this, I had fun writing it. 🙂
Oh! Oh, what a wondrous journey you took me on. From birth to death of this relationship I was enthralled. And this line… this line…
“so I’d close my eyes
inhale your literature
and sing out all your best stories”!
I love the narrator’s realisation that it’s illiteracy not literacy that she’s gained.
Thank you so much, Asha!!
The imagery here is gorgeous. Love the body-as-literature metaphor.
Thank you, Meg!
So, everyone above me here has already said pretty much everything that I would like to say, so I’ll just throw out there that your subject was wrenching, your word choices gorgeous (I can’t even pick which line was my favorite), and I’m just going to go sniffle in the corner for a moment now…
Ahhh, thank you, Shannon! I’m sorry for the sniffles 😉 but I’m so honored that this evoked some emotion in you. Thank you for reading!
I really like your concept of loving someone as reading and the end of a relationship as becoming illiterate. It feels that way—not being able to understand everyday things—after a break up.
It really does. Thank you for your comment, Nate. 🙂
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I think you are a talented poet.
Thank you so much, Ranu 🙂