Your Mask

Your warmth drew me,

Like a fire in the snow,

Nurturing, life-giving,

Cure for my frostbitten soul.

I wish I had known it was only body heat.

~

When the snow melted,

I melted too,

And I wanted,

Oh I wanted more, needed you

Like an empty cup needs to be filled.

~

But you had nothing to give,

Only a facade,

A ruined house beneath pretty eaves,

A broken balustrade,

Unsupported, I fell to my knees.

~

It took so long to leave you,

The faint glimmer of a soul would convince me to stay

A little longer, hoping it was true,

A little longer in my heart's decay,

A little longer until I was almost through.