nothing but strangers now

I like to believe that I play indifference

as well as your practiced apathy

I never thought that I would need to forget

that I ever cared about you

but here we are

and that's the way you wanted it

~~~

I didn't believe you then

but you've paved the road to my abjuration

my tongue's forgotten how

to form your name, the way it

used to sound upon my lips

we're nothing but strangers now

and neither of us will move against it

~~~

You left no reply

to my moment of vulnerable truth

did you feel even the briefest impulse

to try to change my mind

explain that I got it wrong

or did you simply shrug your shoulders

like you used to do

in quiet dispassion

an outward expression of restful acceptance

disguising relief

~~~

you have me out of your life now

where I can no longer confuse you

as if that was my subterfuge all along

there was a time I felt much for you

would cherish every word, every drop

of your attention

like savored drops of dew in the desert

we're nothing but strangers now

and neither of us will move against it

~~~

So here we are

a poem left half written

no ending

only blank lines holding space

the message lost, abandoned

erased

you're only a figure spotted

from the corner of my eye

on a random Tuesday night

I didn't want to acknowledge

as you exited my life

~~~

And I don't know you

I used to think I did

but it was only my echo you reflected

back at me

We're nothing but strangers now

and neither of us will move against it