HEALING TIME

She could have said anything:
she had the right to: tears
framed her eyes that looked
at me with such hurt that I
had to look away: she shook
her head and the tears
silently fell and I waited
for her words and then
they came, she said, quietly,
‘Leave me alone’
and I wanted to hold her,
to ask for her forgiveness,
I wanted to confess, I
wanted too much:
‘Okay’ I whispered and
I packed in quietness and
left my house-keys on the
kitchen table and closed the
door behind as I stepped back
into another fuck-up of my
own making,
leaving behind a wound,
that time would turn away
from.