i need your love

i need
your love,
pale along the lines
of my skin
in the early pink of the morning.

the birds are barely
waking
as the sun creeps past
the body of the curtains,
just allowing enough light
to alluminate the side of your face
pressed into the pillow
in bed beside me.

you will not wake,
just like every other time,
even with the rustle
as i pull the blankets free
of my body,
plod my footsteps across the floor
to the bathroom as i shut
the door
without care that you'll hear me.

the sun is high
by the time i'm gone,
the spare key of your apartment
in the mailbox,
one of my earrings lost
between the mattress and the boxspring,
and the wind a faint whisper
through the leaves of your houseplant
that you've forgotten to water
once again.

and even after i regret it
i will still return,
regardless whether you kiss me,
smile in the light of the day fading,
trace your hand gently
along the side of my cheek
and lie,
just enough to keep believing
it all.

i need your love.