My Heart Aches

by Anastasia Placido

My heart aches when you’re not around
  Everything is wrong:
My shoulder hurts
  My skin is dry
My room is not how I left it
            and my heart aches in my chest
aches for your smell
   yearns for your laugh
aching, desperate, and sobbing
my heart wants so to beat with yours
  it wants me to caress your cheek
hold your hand and study it’s lines
    It admires the shape of your feet,
the curves of your legs, the sway of your hips,
The strength in your shoulders.
     The color of your lips.

            My hands itch to
memorize every vein, wrinkle, and freckle
  to tickle your skin
my face can’t help the need to rest in the hollow of your neck;
      to nuzzle under your chin.
You are a pool in Florida heat
   And I am so ready to plunge in.
and drown
   You are the warm blanket on a frosty day
that keeps my body warm.
And it’s shocking when you are taken away.
            You are the steel rod in my bones when something breaks.
                        When you are gone, my heart aches.