Partner Past Poem by Kay Gaiser

To be with you gave me hope for good things to come,
promises of happiness, clear skies and glistening lakes,
of adventures limited only by the boundaries of our imaginations combined.

I know that you cannot hear me cry as I walk alone in a forest of my own creation; that you cannot promise me salvation once my nightmare is over; I realize that your touch cannot heal my pain.

But I also know that you will tell me I am beautiful even as I fall apart,
that you will stroke my hair and try to stop me from feeding upon myself in despair,
and that you are willing to chase me as I rush, head first, into another storm.
11/09