Dove dark chocolate, 

One of the purest enjoyments in life

 

Foil bends and crinkles as

I relish the moment in which 

I open the clearanced Valentine

Which was somehow abandoned

In the weekend rush of frantic sweethearts

 

Savoring the bitter comfort,

I read the bent print

Nestled on the underneath of the wrapper,

The red letters spell out,

"Share a secret"

 

Meant as a flirtatious jest,

The three words catalyze 

A flashback to 

That night,

No, that week,

That I cannot quite escape from

 

Prying open my mind's eye,

I see myself laughing at

The titles of murder mystery mom

Novels in Barnes & Noble

And, for the first time, I notice

How close we were standing

And how effortless our smiles seemed

 

The spotlight of my mind continues to wander

Until it lands on the two of us

Delaying our departure

As we sit in your car

And allow the tension to climax

As you take my hand,

Turn my body towards yours,

And hesitantly let the space between

Our lips slip away

 

All fears momentarily relieved,

I witness us hastily deciding

To go bowling and,

Though I tremor under the memory of

The pulse of my heart,

I once more sense the

Sweat that ran down my back

As we ignored the broken AC of your car

And let our hands hold

And our lips trace

All that our minds had long forgotten

 

My insides reach a sick ecstasy

As I recall how I climbed high

Above my own skepticism

And mutely accepted you words telling me

That you still loved me

Only to, just days later,

Smash me back onto my foundation

As you turned your words around

And expected me to pretend that

Your poisoned lips did not create

Within me the wildest of desperation

And the fiercest of hope

 

But, as the heated December

Could not last,

So the cold silence

Crept back into our lives

 

Enraged by the onset of such

Unwelcome visions, I

Reject these thoughts and

I dispose of the cursed wrapper;

Some secrets are

Not meant to be shared