Soul in a Jar

you poke your head through the door
just to make sure i'm still here.

then you walk all the way in,
holding my soul in a jar
like it's the most ordinary thing in the world.

while you're here,
there is no yesterday.
there is no tomorrow.

there is only us.

time forgets to move.
the world can knock all it wants..
it doesn't get invited in.

we borrow the life
that should've been ours.
we don't waste a second,
because we've both memorized the ending.

it always starts the same.

the shape of your back.
the doorway.
the space you leave behind.

i only hope
you remember the shape of me
when i'm no longer standing in front of you.

it's strange, isn't it?

we've built something that survives on nothing but words.

other people would see broken sentences,
misspelled thoughts,
letters stumbling over themselves.

all i see
is the truest thing either of us has ever made.

the things we never say still find each other.

i carry your soul in my pocket.

i keep your heart tucked safely behind my ribs.

and when the door closes,
my shadow still follows you home.