cinders and memories

My love for you burns deep inside me,
Like an ember that refuses to die
Though all of the oxygen has been
Cut off.
Third degree burns have disfigured me
Beyond recognition, though my face
Remains untouched
Save by the wrinkles of time
And sorrow.

Scar tissue still pumps blood,
Still dully thumps in my chest –
Almost like a heart.
But it’s just a crude imitation
A mockery.
Embers of times we had
Float beneath my eyes,
A dim, ruddy glow, mere shadow
Of the bright, naïve hope
That once shone through.

And now here I stand,
Still watching you walk away from me
Like a fool, lost in the memory
Of a life that never was.

I see your face in the ashes
And smile.