Your ring

Your ring
weighed me down
from the moment
it touched my hand.
Too much sparkle,
not enough soul

I never grew accustomed
to its presence dragging
along beside me
like a dead pet
still on its leash.

And so, unconsciously, I lost weight of my own,
perhaps to compensate for my added burden

until one day, your ring slipped from my finger
no longer fitting even well enough to cling

and yet,
knowing me as you did,
you still felt obligated,
citing legal prose,
to demand the return
of Your ring.

Donia Lilly
5 October 2004