the sweetness is gone

her hugs changed.
she doesn’t embrace with the same
passion, the same
sincerity. she doesn’t make me feel
loved, deserving anymore.
now it’s a quick,
one-armed,
half-hearted attempt,
a formality.
and she is tinged with smoke.
not her welcome mystery,
her shroud of spikes
and confidence, her fog of
softness and night,
the hair in her eyes.
this is gritty, suffocating,
scorching. he has permeated her,
tainted her, overtaken her.
the sweetness is gone.