Formaldehyde Kiss

There is a sentence
Sprawled on a single piece of paper
Beside a mattress assuring me that
My heart will never break
And I'm as dependent on it
As a hopeless addict
On the needle being clean
Broken framed photographs
Perched on aging furniture
Unconsciously reminding me
As does the shrapnel scar of
A wounded vet
You know its love when we
Dance without moving and converse
Without the lifting of tongues
Every silver will tarnish
Every flower will wither, but if
You part before one heart stops
With my last dying breath, I swear
I would die a thousand deaths
Before I let your lips touch mine