No kisses ever wasted

If you kiss someone

On the tip of their nose —

That one goes straight

To their heart.

I heard it a while ago,

And if I love someone

Their nose looks cute to me

And I feel like touching it.

But here’s something sad:

What if there’s only emptiness

Where their heart used to be?

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I can’t fix it for them.

I can’t pluck my own heart out

To plug that hole of theirs

To make them feel better

While I’m empty and bleeding.

They have to find

What they had lost,

And it has to be theirs,

Not someone else’s.

Not a substitute,

Or worse — a facade,

Misleading, doing a disservice

Both to them and me.

As much as I want to help —

I can’t.

It’s up to them.

I can’t love them out of denial

Into genuine connection

Between the two,

Which cannot be

If at least one is missing.

Sometimes though

I still feel like kissing

That cute nose —

Most likely when they’re sleeping.

I can only hope

They Dream of love

And go for it,

Whatever it takes.

But it could be something else.

What if my kiss

Goes down to that empty space —

And right through it,

Towards the One it was meant for?

July 25, 2021. N.B.