so long

At first, the sight of you was a rare reward.
like the gift of waiting years for a taste.
As in the times you hear it approaching.
With baited breath I hold
until the gasping of your visage crossed my plain.

But the pay was not as it was meant.
The comings were short and the going much wanted.
There were no more whispers.
Just steady anxious talking built into a
swell of wordless grumbling.

I could feel the disappointment ripple through my veins
and cross the threshold to my face
but still you lived here
a burden unaware of the friend in hiding.

Too late was the calling of the future.
Too far behind was my desire to mend this rent cloth.
And now, as nakedness fills my senses
I know what it is that I have lost.