Nicole Johnson

Warmth still in the bed 

Your breath on my neck 

One arm on my waist

Curled into your chest.

That was my safe place, 

That was my rest. 

Every time I move on, 

I fall back there.

That’s the hard part

Letting go of where you start

In my body.

In my skin.

The scent of your cologne in the air. 

A mixture of smoke and spice. 

That wicked look in your eyes

It cuts me twice.

You stay just long enough

Then you fade

No call.

No trace. 

That’s the hard part

Getting distance from your heart

When you disappear,

Again.

Life goes on

My body follows

Through the noise

Through tomorrow.

But you move

In and out

Like I never learned

To shut you out.

That’s the hard part

Even when I play it smart,

You still echo

In the dark.

That’s the hard part

Loving you and loving hard

When the world keeps moving on.