All That We Have Become

She laughed at the way they used to be
Burned the pictures from memory lane
And she wondered how when together they ever felt free
How they had ever stayed sane
When in fact it was true love that tasted like insanity
That sounded like bondage 
So now they had wished they'd only seen
Instead of burning all of their bridges 
But how could they've known that bipolar was like desire
And schizophrenia was a lot like passion 
Like some days you are the forgotten embers at the base of a fire
And other days you are a hunger during a famine where the food is only given in rations 
Until either driven by love or fear 
She set fire to his car on their old anniversary's eve
And when he bailed her out of jail and wiped away her tears 
With the fabric of his shirtsleeve
They kissed under the glow of the moon 
And red and blue lights from the station 
And joked at how easily they could start to swoon
After a year of fears and not being able to face them 
Then thinking of the philosophers who wrote of a love so wise 
And when comparing their love to the love of other men 
A glint of tears and madness swarmed her eyes 
As she whispered: How did we become so broken? 

-anna sluder

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