Letting go

To think it love was foolishness.

I knew the signs –
Restlessness, elation, the moods.

The nature was bounteous,
The days all bright,
And God the most beloved.
My smile was the best,
Our bodies were in insatiable thirst,
And making love was nothing lustful.

We were made for each other,
and fate had brought us together for a reason.

What could be better than being in your arms, my love!

But nothing lasts forever.

Like the smoke of hashish in the air,
Or the echo of a sparrow's chirp,
All beautiful things perish.

Our love was beautiful too,
Beautiful while it lasted...

An old song would call you heartless
And me unfaithful.
But we knew the depths of our love,
The blind comfort of warm bodies.

I don't want to be mentioned in the annals of relationships
Like Romeo-Juliet, Troilus-Cressida, or Heer-Ranjha.
I don't want to be praised for sacrifice in any poems.
I don't want to be cited as examples in school textbooks.
I know you don't too.

Colours of the rainbow fade away,
A hair strand once broken cannot be fixed,
A soured love is lost forever...

Chipped nails grow,
And so shall we move on.

But I hope,
My memories remain in your heart
like the words of the song we composed together.

The melody of our breaths
echoing against our skin,
The silent moans we shared;
The graze of our skins,
The smell of whisky in your mouth as we kissed last.

The parting sigh is still on my lips.
The words stuck in my throat.
Sweat down my chin
wetting your shirt.

We still don't want to let go,
maybe,
But have no courage to say so.