precious stones

you were ruby when you called me by name
topaz when you used endearments.
you were amethyst when you met me by your favorite statue
(your face looking pensively away before
you noticed me, and suddenly i wished you hadn’t.)

you were onyx when i wanted to have your hands on me.

i was pearl when i wore that skirt that pooled around me
emerald when i wore my contacts and smiled at you upside-down.
(the way you asked me to all the time)
i was sapphire when you were sick and i
couldn’t help, ineffectual to the last.
i am still ineffectual
and opal now, near the end.

write me to tell me something about myself.
i have run out of precious stones
and you have always cleverly painted my hues.
you always did things in quick succession,
and i interjected myself like the wind where i could.
if i think of you tonight during sleep, you
will be gone like a whisper when i wake.
you will be gone
like moonstone
when i wake.