Please Help Me

Please Help Me
Please help me.

It is not the thought of love that eludes me—
it is the sweetness of your touch
lingering longer than undeserved grace,
your name coursing through my veins
until my vision yields
to the quiet splendor of you.

It is not the duty of tenderness that unsettles me,
but the fear that Athena may once more
strike my guarded heart with wisdom too sharp,
and Jupiter himself
tear you from my warmest embrace.

This is a feeling once cradled for another—
a touch now turned to winter,
an affection my swollen heart
can scarcely recall.

I do not waver in intent,
yet I retreat from falling beneath your gaze—
that gaze
where breathing becomes a labor,
where surrender gathers at the edge of restraint.

Do not cradle me in your thoughts.
Release me—please, let me go.
You are too delicate
to have your heart cry out my name,
your eyes ache in the absence
of my breath upon your neck,
when destiny may one day
lead you elsewhere.

It is a heavy burden, this vow to be true
while still haunted by dreams not fully buried—
a forever I once imagined holding.

Please help me.
I am falling in love with you.

But do not open the door.
I am temptation—
not salvation.

The sweetness that brushes your lips
may taste like promise,
may sound like forever—
but some promises
are both blessing and undoing.

Please help me.