Set the World Aflame

A Poem

Photo by Gustavo Almeida via Pexels

i knew i lost you
when your eyes turned cold,
like a faucet running hot to lukewarm
as if a secret fire had sputtered out.

and they told me to let it go
because that’s what heartache is
and i had so much growing up to do.

lover’s quarrels, hunter’s eyes —
how different are they really
when both tear you apart?

i know games end
and fancies do indeed fade,
but the spark of you left me hoping
there might be an epilogue to set free.

and they said i was crazy
because who could ever want
someone who’s languishing fast?

dreamy eyes, phantom kisses —
love takes a false guise, bewitching,
while no one else even bothers to look.

i had known it from the start —
the curse of infatuation,
the oblivion of surrender —
and it was an ill-fated union.