Love Poem: How Do We Continue
Paula Swanson Avatar
Written by: Paula Swanson

How Do We Continue

How do we continue? 

When etched indelibly upon our being, 

are the scars  from love that has been abandoned. 

When the loss chafes the heart? 

With cold iron hands that leave us raw, 

as we traverse our days and lament our nights. 

How to clear the palate? 

When lost trust leaves an acrid taste 

upon our tongues when we speak of love’s betrayal. 

To staunch tears? 

Those that refuse to be tamped down. 

Seeping of their own accord into our lives. 

Blurring our vision of the here and now. 

Or the aromas? 

That play upon our memories. 

Releasing them to overtake our thoughts 

and fracture our hard won tranquility. 

What is the breaking point of the fine line 

between just existing and living?