(Poem) Cherished

When I think of you, I
fall
again and again. I
hurt. I remember
all the prickles and needles, the
stabbing pain that comes with
you.

When I think of you, I
feel
so much more. I feel
all that warmth, that
hate. I feel oceans and waves—valleys
of bitterness, and sharp,
cutting winds.

When I think of you, I
cry
to forget. I regret
everything that went
wrong, everything that went
right. I regret everything that led to us being
here.

When I think of you, I
know
that it was real. I know
that something was there—
that intensity, that bittersweet gaze, so
all I hope is that you
felt it too.