Suffocation

It is meant to be theft.
They are supposed to take
your breath away.
They are supposed to take
the air inside your lungs
and put it in a jar
and label it with “precious,
appears empty,
but holds their life,
my world.”

There was a time when
I took your breath away,
put it in a jar,
labeled it,
guarded it,
like I was supposed to.

I was so busy
guarding your breath,
your life,
my world,
that I never realized
you were suffocating.

But you are,
and now
I too cannot breathe

It was theft when
I once took your breath away.
And now you suffocate.

“precious,”
it reads.
“appears empty,
but holds his life,
my world.”