_“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