slender reminders

I wondered aloud, 

bittersweet, 

if the world wouldn't look as lovely without me.

You assured me you'd seen beauty, 

decided for yourself
the air between us is not enough
to replace my breath in your lungs.

How will you remember me, 

hidden in the shadow of the new and beautiful? 

You'll follow anywhere as long as I'm standing still, 

indecision wracking my bones and clutching my capillaries.

I'm holding your neck with one hand
while promising permanence with the other, 

kissing my way to violent affection. 

I want to keep you, 

bound and lonely, 

broken and tasting blood, 

infatuated at the thought of bare skin
scraping on my asphalt tongue. 

I wondered aloud, 

bittersweet, 

how your fingers would break between my teeth

sucking on slender reminders of love, 

coursing through our veins.