Fastigium Poem by Ibn Ali

It's a long time overdue
And I sleep sound as I'm no more in love with you
It only took a decade
A harpooned heart, barbed
Thorns ripped through cotton wool
And I never got my whale
That was just the start
It felt like interrogation
I spilled my every secret
If you read my work you'd know
If you heard my voice you'd weaken

She's my hometown
Romanticised by my absence
I'm familiar with the streets
The contours are the same
But everything is not how I remembered

Joys savoured through youthful lips
Younger tongues
I could not forget
If I stay too long, I might never leave
The past is just to visit
Hospitable as she is, at times

She took the stock and came back for the reserves
Did I love her or loathe everyone else
It's what I say
I've been burnt before, but you'll always find me by the fireplace
I never learn
The margin for error is illegible
That's a lie, I chose not to see it
My dawn has broken through the night
Now I can greet you when I meet you
Smile and be civilised
You loaned my love and were late in the return
I'll forego the charge just this one time
But be warned, the heavy toll
A hearty toll, tinnitus like inside
You're not to be forgotten or ignored