Love and Lonely don’t mix
Or, they shouldn’t
That’s what she tells herself 
In the heat of another argument
In the chill of another untouched side of the bed
In the dread of another too quiet night
No, Love and Lonely don’t mix
Not in their truest forms
Not at all

Lonely she understands
Innately, naturally, forcibly 
It is not only a missing piece
But the deep desire lurking behind
A potent longing
Eliciting hope and heartache within the same breath

Lonely she understands
She finds comfort in his painful embrace
Consistent
Predictable
Home
Perhaps that’s why she finds herself here
In this relationship
With this man
Further sliding into the pain she so intimately knows
Lonely

That is not why she chose the man
Originally, she was running
Making her grand escape 
Wanting something more
Wanting Love
But Love and Lonely don’t mix
And Lonely already had her in his clutches
His sights on the beauty and warmth she carried
Warmth to combat cold
Beauty to counter flaws
The wholeness to his missing pieces

At first, she despised Lonely
He had disguised himself
Dragging her down to torturing depths
To divorce and fatherless children
To responsibilities only she could care for
To sea floors of silence
To atmospheres of black holes

But time goes on
Eventually, even clarity goes mad
Feelings are warped 
Or manipulated
Or simply changed
And so, the torture becomes the pleasure
The holes become the freedom
The silence becomes the peace
And Lonely becomes the friend

He taught her about herself
About others
About life
She adapted to his environment
More than that, she thrived
Hate no longer lingered
No, she anticipated
She enjoyed
She held

And when she had received 
When she reached the end of Lonely
When he gave all he had
He let go
Because Love and Lonely don’t mix,
And now, she was ready