On the barren paper
I wrote
for her
It was a song of love
beautifully crafted
written in pencil
It spoke of truth
It spoke of commitment
It spoke of trust
I called it "Devotion"
She read it and
she loved it
at first
After some time
she picked up an eraser
and ever so slowly
one line at a time
she erased
starting at the bottom
one line every month or so
I got used to it
Almost came to expect it

Then one day
only the title was left

"Devotion"
sat atop the scarred page

I looked into her eyes
took the eraser
from her hand
and I erased the title

She finally hung the poem
on her wall


copyright 1992 Dale Suffridge