[139] The Last Word

It was one of those conversations
where the word “love” was mentioned
31 times
where it felt for the first time that
with all this distance between us
space can feel suffocating too

It was one of those conversations
where the word “bye” was mentioned
55 times
and yet we talked regardless
letting every sound of that bye die in vain

It was one of those conversations
where silence and breathing made up
the larger part of our exchange
and yet it was about our miscommunication
and a relationship that’s left deranged

It was one of those conversations
where you dread the silence afterwards
where every word they utter
and every pause they have
can assume its own meaning
can stay still in our memory
because
it was one of those conversations
that you have for one last time

—-
This poem has been written as a part of NaPoWriMo Day 25’s prompt:

“Today, we challenge you to write a poem that takes the form of a warning label . . . for yourself!”