She doesn't talk about him,

but you can see he's there

in her thoughts, the dark

shadow behind her eyes

that wasn't there before.


It's not as though you really knew him

friends said, trying to help

but missing the point completely.


Their love had danced on the screen,

flickering and growing into a blaze

that warmed her barren heart

despite the miles

and oceans of impossibility,

love, desire and gratification

as real as a sunset,

infinite as ripples on a calm lake,

dancing briefly and vanishing.


How is it possible to fall

in love with some words

and not love the man

who strung them together,

a rope of fine pearls

expertly knotted?


Victim of desire,

she found herself stranded

and watched him grow distant

as he tied knot after knot,

an exquisite noose

for her willing throat.