Lip Balm

It was with a jolt that I realised I was halfway through
The stick of lip balm. I don’t think much of how every swipe
Counts towards something. Small things add up till it runs out
Or overflows. It’s these small things, like watching
A speckle of sun stuck in your eyes or the shape of the
Song you hum that adds up to the distance that drowns
My far away heart in tears. It is a reminder that there are
Only so few options to keep my lips hydrated –
To go back to the sunny humid island where the seal
Over my mouth is melted by a slow suffocating breath; or
To stock up on the bullets of lip balms so the ammunition
Will barely be enough; or to you that is the worst of both worlds
For surely it will take my breath with each application
But it will never be enough.