---

in your absence 

involuntarily

i enter rooms

where sun light

casts shadows

for selves i hadn't

met yet

in your absence

it becomes possible 

to leave

the body

we made

and split

back into

my own skin

in your absence

silence is my home

where you don't speak

a word

so i can know

where you go

when you go

in your absence

i learn to stop searching

for your face

and focus only

on the spark

you left behind

with which

i return

to how i love

in your absence

i let you go

black bird

who never had wings

and for whom

i couldn't mold

another country

from breath

in your absence

i retreat

patiently

wait

and accept

the dream

you were