Poem: that means it ends.
No need to close my eyes
The scene is clear though sad
Part of me lives in the marital bed
Softly wondering if she can hold on
Hoping the future will bring her certainty
That she will be his in name, in time.
Waiting while he moves through another part of the house
Delaying getting up and getting clothes
Putting off returning to the normal world

She lives in the slow moments that pass
Unhurried in the marital bed
Full of sweetness and heady with the sense of him
Alone in tangled blankets
Not wanting to leave
This is the safe place
Where the world won't touch

Stepping out means it ends
Donning clothes means it ends
Speaking up means it ends

My eyes are open, but I am there still
Listening to him move through the house
While I snuggle into the covers
Letting the scent pull my eyes closed
Though they drift open again to look out the window at the morning
It is a beautiful morning but I don't want it to touch me
Because that means it ends.