The Alternative to Love

We're past the gripping hate
of yesterday's Heaven.
Today: It's a murky sky
and the impending deluge.

It's a broken vinyl LP
where I lay to rest
all my memories of you.

Like rust
never to be noticed,
never to be made to feel special
ever again.

Along with the words
that were all about you,
which were once poetic
but now pathetic.

I won't even take shelter
as hard as the rain may pour.
I will ask each raindrop
what it feels like to be in heaven.

And if there is a place among the clouds
for a sorry tale such as this
with an ending I wrote down
the minute you wanted one from me.

Years will pass:
We bump into each other.
We don't even say hi.
We won't even force a smile.

You'll just think:
"That looks a lot like
the boy I reduced to tears."

And then I'll whisper in your dreams:
"I just wanted you to see.
I'm now the man you thought I'll never be."