iv. “what now?”

sit me down, shut me up,
anything but this awful silence.
unchecked messages, declined calls,
you roam around, giving me a taste;
fuck around and find out,
now you're gone without a trace.

cheap perfume clings to your neck;
tell me to stop now, or i'll break.
scrub rose petals across skin filled with scars,
tell me that i’m beautiful with you underneath or i'll break,

face it, there's no turning back now,
i'll mold like a bitch now.
face it, there's no use denying it,

now the guilt devours you alive.
is it my skin or the kiss that you miss?
either way, it's lodged in your mind like venomous bliss.

but truthfully, i linger in the silence you've left behind,
tracing echoes in empty lime streets.
each heartbeat questions the void,
whispering, “what's left when the thrill fades?”

the clock counts off our scattered minutes,
reminding me that time won't forgive our mistakes.
i light a cigarette to burn away the memories,
each ember a spark of what once was.

and still, i ask, “what now?”

rain taps softly on the window with regret,
dancing freely like the promises we betrayed.
i reach out to grasp the fading trails,
only to find the night as cold as your goodbye.

so, what now, when every answer breeds another question?

i stand here, fragments of us in hand,
collecting piles of laughter and pain,
each piece a reminder of moments lost.
as the silence deepens, i can only whisper,
“what now?”