Can we stop, start it over
and reintroduce ourselves as friends?
Let the past harden like cooled, charred lava
embrace each other and make amends?

Can we leave love’s story untold –
leave the unwritten verses in our minds?
Let indifference swallow them up
and scatter them beneath the sands of time?

Can former lovers embrace without evoking
a familiar feeling and saliva on the tongue?
Restrain from a feast of memories preserved
from when you and I were young?

Can we draw the dangling curtains close,
realign the stage and clear the set?
Quickly change our costumes and clothes,
put on a new play, and learn to forget?

Can we mute the muffled musings
our hearts beat within our breasts?
Escort each other from familiar quarters
and greet each other as guests?

Can we walk the sidewalk beside the city street
and shield ourselves from Cupid’s stare?
Ignore the past echoing off the souls of our feet
and convince ourselves we no longer care?

Is there a chance at rearranging
the odd-shaped puzzle pieces of our lives?
Or will we always remain locked as corner pieces,
trying to fight our way back inside?

I could supply you with a dose of honesty,
but the poison would certainly spoil the taste.
So I’ll just say I can handle “friends”
and pretend you can be replaced.