Shutter down

there was no sadness,
no feelings of regret
neither the drowning of sorrows
nor the cursing of fate

the fogged up windows
mirroring their thoughts
as they held hands one last time,
done with firing their shots

their words still rung in the air
each venomous syllable
cutting through the painful silence
like anecdotes from the devil's parables

they couldn't say anything more
so the thunder spoke up instead
roaring through the glass
and shaking them out of their heads

it was the end, they knew
but neither wanted to leave first
hoping against hope, wishing in vain
that they had left behind the worst

she waited a second,
then pulled away from his grip
no words of goodbye needed
none uttered from his lip

their futures, once set in stone
now gave way to an empty abyss
they once shared their clothes, their home, their secrets, their desires
now... not even a kiss

they had been here before, many a time
but never walked through the door
and now that they did, it was strange, cold and empty
yet, freeing... suddenly, there was space for so much more

so she kept out of sight, but never too low
he hid in the shadows but kept sight of the light
both hurt, but knowing there was nothing left for them together
and that they were destined to last only until the end of the night.