we (i) die

it's become so pronounced

that i no longer recognize her.

this disease,

this dreaded illness

that eats away at her.

this disease that no one ever escapes.

we all fall sick

sometime

or another.

most people heal.

does that comfort you?

i mean, me.

am i content to know that this will pass?

she will be whole again

someday...

won't she?

nobody knows.

she doesn't know that she's dying.

she doesn't see that the end is near.

she moves on

and on

and on,

never slowing for a moment's breath,

never realizing she's killing herself.

she's killing me.

i'm killing me.

she looks in the mirror

fixes the smile on her face.

i watch her

silently

not daring to offer a reprimand for this facade.

that mask suffocates us.

both of us.

not that we're any different.

when she looks in the mirror

i see myself.

and nothing can hide

the pain in our eyes

that are one and the same pair

of once-glowing green

now gone dull

with the agony of our sickness.

we watch ourself

as we die

of a broken heart.