The Warmest Way

"Sometimes, love is almost protection enough."

Most days I think this is love
And it's keeping me alive.
Protecting me from the harm
That is in myself.

I thought it would be harder,
To pull back from you.

But I have tread this path before.
I know how to break parts of myself off.
Hold them in my hands
And save them for later. 

Here are some from 15 years ago,
See?
They still glisten in the light,
Beating.
Not dead after all these years.

I thought they might shrivel,
Or become smaller.
But they feel just the same.

I'll put your pieces with them.
And maybe someday,
I'll be able to tell,
The moment I knew
The you I loved was gone.

Or maybe I'll grow old,
Knowing the you I loved never changed.
That might be the warmest way,
To lose someone.