Sacrifices

by Kaye Spivey
(Cheney, WA, USA)

I’m afraid I’ll forget your voice,
And that touching
Was the only thing that mattered
To you, and so
It was the only thing that mattered
To me all those nights
Combing the blonde from my hair
So that I could stay
Cradled in the deep smell of your neck,
Running my fingers across
Every word I missed when you mumbled
Or I stopped listening—
Those tastes that chained me to you
Even when I was
So miserably far away.