A sad smile graces his lips as his hand comes forward to caress my cheek.
“Don’t touch me!” I exclaim, seeming like a feral kitten.
He knows I dare not strike.
“Please…” He pleads.
And I know I have hit a nerve.
“I can’t bear it..” I stammer.
Why won’t he just leave me alone?
The tears in his eyes reflect the sadness in my own.
I cannot help but pity him.
Lovers, we once were.
But his worldly ways would not sate.
For I, alone, could not satisfy him.
In the worst way,
He left me.
In the worst way,
He betrayed me.
And now,
Here he is.
Begging for mercy--
My mercy.
But it is not mine to give.
I shall never give what is not mine to give.
Just as I shall never take what is not mine to take.
Once, I gave him my heart, my soul--
My everything,
And he spurned me.
He wants forgiveness.
He wants mercy.
But I cannot give him what is not mine to give.
“Go…” I say to him.
“Please…” I beg of him.
I try to feign indifference.
But my voice betrays me.
This, he can see.
For his silence tells me everything.
As he turns to walk away,
I curse my outstretched hand as it, too, betrays me.
I won’t deny it--
I long for him.
But he is not mine to take.
I shall never take what is not mine to take.
Just as I shall never give what is not mine to give.