“Dear Eliza,”

The letter read

I clutched it to my chest

Scared to read the rest

I picked back up the letter

Sucked air into my lungs

And read on

“I love you”

The paper slipped from my hands

As did a tear down my cheek

And my back down the wall

She can’t be serious

Breathe in, and out, lets try again

In..1…2…3

Out….3….2…1

Pick up the paper

“And I know you don’t feel the same”

(But why would she say)

“But I can’t tell you any other way”

(What does that mean?)

“That I can’t let you go”

Oh god

I don’t want to let her go either

I want to hold her close

“And I don’t know that I ever will”

Are these tears that sting my eyes

As I read the lines of my lover

“So I write you this letter”

Well I can see that my dear

“To tell you, I love you”

How sweet a word

To hear from her

And I want to say it back

“I love you too”

I write

But no more than that

Because after those words are uttered

there is no going back