Dead Jealous by Jenny McPhillips

Although you and I breathe
each breath of air in unison,
I gasp involuntarily
each time a leaf falls
at your feet.

An inner explosion erupts
in its own field of glory
and I battle against my own will
to appease the growing storm
and its eventual release,
as day by day
I search
to find control.

For how can I compare
with the fair locks
of a princess loved by all?
Eternity brings with it perfection
and faults are removed
by memory’s desire.

You speak of her in peaceful voice…
never an unkind word
shall leave your lips
when her name is used;
and spoken in reverential tones.

Apprehensive thorns of bitterness unfounded
already wreak their havoc on my soul;
and you have no understanding
of the turmoil
sweeping through my mind.

She’s in the rain when you recall the time you first met.
On the waves you see her spirit flying free.
In the sand, still her footprints are visible to you
and in the snow, your mind takes you back to her;
to the night you lost her on that winter’s eve,
when you and she breathed your last breath--
in unison.

How can I release my envy of your first true love;
when presently, she monopolises my thoughts?
Her silken beauty chases me in dreams.
Her words harass me in life
and in time…
she will kill my love for you.