Armor

on nights
such as these
i only wish
to hold you tight

lest you evaporate
from my arms
as i have
so very often feared

for in my experience
evaporation is unquestionable

here
i would be vacant
little left
but a hollow smile
twisted upright
slashed across my face

your sleeping form
is the only thing
that holds me to this world
on treacherous nights
such as these

i am lying by your side
praying
for the dawn to never come