Forever Fever

Forever doesn't always stay for ever

Forever you said

and I tucked the word under my tongue

like it was holy,

like it could anchor every shaking part of me.

One promise

and suddenly I had a future

I wasn't afraid to look at.

Forever you said

and I built rooms inside my heart for us,

decorated with every soft moment

you probably already forgot.

But I kept the lights on anyway,

waiting for your footsteps

like you were just running late.

Forever you said

and I clung to those syllables

as if letting go would make them lies.

People warned me that love doesn't last,

but I called it loyalty,

called it hope,

called it anything except what it really was.

Forever you said

but the echo is louder than your voice.

The promises dried up in your absence,

and the bed is too wide for just my side.

Forever you said

yet somehow

I'm the only one still here.