I cleansed my sheets of you today
Spread out the sheet and tucked in the corners with extra care
Laid a blanket down, taking a moment to spread my hands across it, feeling the softness
Crawling into it felt odd at first
I knew you weren’t in it anymore
You weren’t wrapping yourself around me and keeping me warm while I slept
You weren’t protecting me from the world around me so I could have a moment at peace
That wasn’t you anymore
So now I have these sheets
Clean, fresh, warm, and not you
What a relief
I pull the sheets in closer, closer
Breathing deeply into them and asking them to keep me warm and safe
Holding me all night while I try not to dream of you

Was I
ever wrong?
You're asking me?

I was
wrong nearly
start to finish.

Could I
make amends,
I wouldn't try.

I can't pretend
what I've
done is some

thing I can fix.

Don't erase
all the pain,
all the hurt -
you know it was me.

My failure
of feeling,
of motion,
and failure to see

You, as you, without
my perspective skewed,
without my intent
slipping from
benevolence
and into
malevolence.

Darling, the
dead night,
the lonely
bedsheets
fit my crime
fine, but
are not
punishment
enough.