Liar Prays Poem by Za7ra Sulaiman

he kissed me like a liar prays.

He came to me at midnight—
not as a lover,
but as a man who'd run out of places to hide.

Eyes like apologies never spoken,
hands like they'd broken things
and still wanted to hold me.

I let him in—
because what else do you do
when the storm knocks gently?

He didn't speak at first.
Just touched my face
like he was memorizing it
for a war he wasn't sure he'd survive.

I asked him if he loved me.
He smiled like the question was cruel.
'I've loved you in every way except the kind that saves.'

And that was enough.
God, it was enough.

Because he kissed me like a liar prays—
desperate,
drenched in guilt,
begging someone who'd already stopped listening.

He kissed me like I was water
and he hadn't learned to swim.

Like he wanted to drown—
but not too fast.

We made a religion out of each other's bodies,
but we were both too faithless to stay.

And when he left—
he didn't say goodbye.
Just looked at me
like I was the best sin he'd ever tasted.

And I let him go.
Because what else do you do
when the fire wants to leave you gently?