Forever Together

I let go of your hand
And feel the same visceral pain
That I have grown used to
Tears well in the throat
That I am too unwilling to set free

The wrenching hurt that only love can levy
Has become my lot, with and without you
Too familiar with its raw embrace
It has become for me
A closer mate than thee
When apart, your memory
Swells wide this yearning heave
When together, but silently

I anticipate the day that I must leave
Behind every smile hides another fear
And every laughter harbors but lament
Swift with ascension comes but descent

You asked me to stay another day
And still I turned and walked away
Knowing it will be no easier tomorrow
And that my joy must follow sorrow
Though everything inside me knows
I want to hold on as long as I may
A simple thought begins to glow
Allowing me to pull away

In life, every joining must meet separation
Each pleasure, pain in close succession
Both my clasp loosens and my resolve
And pain begins slowly to dissolve

Know this, that every departure separates
Less death, my friend, which liberates