any alternative I come up with still ends in heartbreak

an inhale of entrails

tangled and coiled

collapsing

colliding

chords in minor keys

out of tune and unrelenting

I can still feel the imprint

if your skin stuck to mine

like a shadow embroidered

to the seams of my being

clinging

squeezing

queezy

pounding and thundering

every regret

is written in morse code

and sung out in Braille

over the intercom of my cheeks

through the speakers of my eyelids

suddering

shifting

wishing

wondering

would you

still

love me

if I...