Sprinting Toward the Unknown

“Run away with me,” she breathed,

Heart pounding, breaking,

Chest heaving and aching,

Fearing the loss of true love.

-

Impossible, they knew;

Their lots at odds, their paths knit askew.

He sighed,

She cried.

They knew.

-

They held each other

Tight;

A fight

Against every bone and nerve

Something so real,

It begs to deserve

A chance.

-

A dance

Born of lust—

Then trust

And affection

Eagerly sown

To depths yet unknown.

-

A morning of passion

And then a week;

Connection consumed them,

Urged them to speak

Their minds,

Their souls.

Their hearts grew bold.

-

Consequences too real;

Let them be damned.

She wanted to feel

Alive;

A gift to herself.

-

He insisted she stay

Where she was—

A life neatly assuring,

Unalluring,

Steeped in routine

With another so keen

On her.

-

But he did love her so

Even though

They shared a future so thin—

Gauze floating on wind.

-

She can’t bear to lose

The memories,

The sensations—

Total elation—

His smell,

His skin,

Her head under his chin.

-

“Run away with me,” she pleaded,

Already defeated.

He swayed forward and back,

Feet planted on a crack

In his resolve.

-

Between worlds,

She sagged from the weight

On her heart and her mind

At a loss to find

A sober solution.

-

A familiar song plays,

Drifts up through the rays,

Recalling eight days

Of pure ecstasy.

-

Hope buried deep,

She cocks herself tall,

Then falters and falls

Forward,

Forward,

Forward

She runs.