I dream again of kissing you, but my lips are
Dry. Ashamed, I apologize. It’s been
A long time since I kissed anyone, I say.
I’m long out of practice. We try again.
Kissing ashes, I whisper. You lick my lips, but
Your tongue is dry. We miss our chance again.
I think I’ve heard that marriage without love is just
A set of facts collected over time,
Like many other experiences. Hardly
Special. Only moments, bracketed chunks
Of time chipped from life. Hammer and rock. Workaday.
I wouldn’t know. With or without. My lips
In my dreams are dry. When I’m awake, too.
There are
Things over the years, I know, I’ve needed
To forget to keep on living. I’ve succeeded
For the most part.
But you must control dreams.
When I wake up, after dreaming of you, it’s true.
I still have some forgetting work to do.
Lanning Lee 