Your words touch me
I don't know why.
To me, you are nobody, nobody.
Yet they envelop me -  each syllable still warm
and moist, fresh off your tongue.
they feather across my cheek and flash in front of my eyes
as I mouthe them unconsciously,
my lips mirroring yours.
My skin scorches, my throat burns as I
swallow the significance
of each word you choose.
They pierce my chest, ink my heart
so I may never forget their darkness and their weight
or how they poisoned my blood.
Each inflection in your voice deafens me with its ring in my ears and -
the memory of your pauses are suffocating, suffocating.
So sometimes, when it storms
I stand in the rain for hours
choking on the raindrops,
trying to wash away the taint
your words have left on me.

_