Doublemint

Beyond the reaches of my memory
Through fading, rotting past
I will climb down the ladder

Her mouth tasted like Doublemint gum
Her favorite kind, I made it mine
How many times? So many times
We traced the shapes of our lips with our tongues
Like a man gone blind, I still know hers well
And the soft, sweet difference
Between the bottom and the top
One at a time, I took them in my mouth
To savor, none in the world
Quite like them
Faces dangerously close
I had to shut my eyes
Or else find my soul
Drowning in the infinite pool
Of her irises
(A baptism half complete)
The reflections in her pupils
Were too much mirrors
I could never bear
Because they showed me worth loving
Because they showed me with wonder
Because they showed me worth saving
Worth healing with love
All the while I knew better
But I saw her with passion
And I saw her with greed
I saw her with wanting
I saw her with need
I saw her as savior
The meaning of life
Never once thinking...

It's time I climbed back up this ladder
Back with this moment I've stolen from her
A diamond I've dug up from the sands of forgetfulness
Hard as the heart she left beating
Hard as the heart she left bleeding