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