Tenuous

How delicate, how fragile, a relationship can be.

We may be one unkind word away from never speaking to each other again.

One misunderstanding could unravel our union for good.

We may appear rock-solid from the outside with legally binding papers to boot, but we are fragile, we are delicate.

We’ve endured far more than we signed up for.

The minor irritations grew into gaping wounds with time.

I stay with you for some pretty shitty reasons: wanting to portray happiness in order to stick it to an ex.

In doing so, do I not bind myself to my ex all the more by acting with him in mind, no matter how bitter the intent?

I seal myself to you with the molten anger I feel toward the haters who doubted us due to their racism and classism.

I cling to you because I don’t want to put out the energy required to date or make love to someone new.

Yet in my dreams, I caress former lovers who are old friends and know in my heart that I cannot let my lifetime pass without holding them tenderly again.