Burned Up, Burned Out, I'Ve Let It Go Poem by Leria Hawkins

I know not what it means to be loved
But only to love in vain
I have not held the gentle grace of your words
Or tasted the fiery bloom of regard
You cast me into a cold prison of oppression
Offering only scrapes of charity, lukewarm sentiments
Mere lip service to fuel my heart when passion starts to wane
You are a cold and calculating master
The proverbial 'wolf in sheep's clothing'
Hiding your confessions deep in the recesses of my shame
You baited me with greedy hooks, tripped the snare
And I, fell victim to your frivolity
I believed myself strong enough…and you, man enough
To ride the insatiable waves of my desires
Still leaving fruit for tomorrow's gathering
But you could not give, the same passion that you received
Nor hold in reserve seeds for tomorrow
Instead you burned, and burned, and burned the candle
Flaming both ends, with a rampant wickedness until there was none…
I look upon the ashes with heavy heart
For I cannot bring back what has been used up and discarded in indifference
I cannot look into the light of tomorrow and see the same man
And though I love, it is with a heart as cold and lifeless as your own
I have long buried the passion that once flamed my nights
Commanded my days and held me breathless to your call
I cannot love you, the true…bread and bone of you
My love is a dream, a knight in shining armor wearing an image of your smile
A mere vision that disappears each morn with the breaking of dawn
I have sang your praises, nurtured the dream decades long
But, I will lay no more beneath the cold stone of apathy
You are not worthy of this passion, this fire, or this undying love
My longing for you is but ashes, soot, soil beneath my feet
And I desire you no more…