One

It’s always in the dark that I hear
The heart-stopping noise of your absence
It sometimes sounds like a creak in the stair
Or a pop in the wall, expanding with the burden of summer’s heat

 

It is never you appearing in surprise
Your footsteps long ago retreated
And here I am left with two pillows
When all I ever needed was just one

It’s in the morning quiet that I miss
The familiar rattle of your sleeping snores
And the lurch of the bed as you roll in your sleep
The silence echoes in the sheets 

Now only stillness lays in my well-made bed

It is never expected, the ending to love
It clenches and strangles and severs the heart
And here I’m left with two pieces

When I only ever wanted just one.