It arrives as a surprise
the grief
like ice on the back
for something that never was

Me: Question (Awkward Page)
Him: An Affirmative (Awkward Page)

Me: Projection (With Hope)
Him: Emotional Response (Evasive Maneuvers)

Time
Instinct. Doubt. Fear. Preservation.
Marches

Me: Question (Clarifying)
Him: The Negative (Clarified)

Me: Question (Fragile Hope)
Him: The Negative (Emphatic)

Me: Question (Flash Grief)
Him: The Affirmative (Flash Sympathy)

Me: Rhetorical Question (Suppressing Grief with Humor)
Him: Rhetorical Answer (Attempting the Same)

Time
Reflection. Suppression. Deflection.
Marches

It arrives as a surprise
the grief
like ice on the back
for something that never was