Where Did You Go?

the house still smells like you.
ink, flowers, the metal of your rings.
but you aren’t here.

i’ve checked every window twice,
listened for your steps until the air went silent.
even the walls feel different,
as if they’re holding their breath, waiting for you.

i tell myself you just went walking,
that the night pulled you outside again.
but the moonlight looks wrong without you.
too sharp. too quiet. too far...

if you left because of me,
i won’t ask you to come back.
but if you’re lost,
if the world swallowed you entirely,
i’ll keep calling your name until it breaks my chords.

i don’t know where you are,
and that’s the cruelest part.
it’s not only losing you that hurts,
it’s not knowing if you’re already gone.