Sonnet 54 – Tell Me

Tell me that there is no place for us, that
we are somehow wrong. Make me believe you
could set aside your hunger, could forget
how perfectly our two souls meet, renew

us, sustain us. Tell me that your head does
not fit in the hollow of my shoulder.
Deny your eyes light for me, say shadows
shade my way. Say that, as we grow older,

you would be content to see my empty
chair by your cold hearth. Tell me that your heart
does not ache with need, does not break for me.
Say you’d be happier living apart.

Tell me these things truly and I will leave.
But I will still love you and I will grieve.