Cavernous

He crawled in, and I let him stay.

Let him drip down into the cavity between my ribcage,

down into the vacuous center.

Cavernous mouth, tasteless wet warmth.

His breath a sedative.

He was the moon swallowing the sun.

Sitting in the passenger seat of his car,

cigarette butts collecting on the asphalt outside the door.

A monument to our love.

Catching my reflection in the window,

me, but somehow wrong.

Crooked face, crooked eyes,

speaking crooked words.

I remember the moment something sweet had turned bitter.

His hand on my thigh, my stomach, my neck.

His fingers at my throat.

I remember when we began existing in separate spaces of quiet,

like spirits pulled from rapture.

Cavernous souls, cavernous minds.

Cavernous hearts beating to the rhythm of falsehoods and lies.