It lingers in the deep breath
that speaks of longing,
in a voice too low to hear.

It hides behind stinging eyes
and a quick swallow,
burying unwanted tears
under a long-practiced smile
and easy banter.

But when eyelids fall closed,
walls may crumble beneath their weight.

I find myself running
with nightmare-slowed strides
away from what I want most.

In these Dali-esque dreams,
the colours are all wrong,
and you are the monster
that breathes down the back of my neck-
mires me in smiling glances,
eats me alive with lace-edge kisses.

For those moments,
there is no escape, and I'm yours-
until morning comes,
when sunlight banishes you
to dark rooms deep in my head-

where you linger
in stinging eyes and deep breaths.

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