stranger

You are a stranger, even though
I am sleeping at your side, your arm resting on my hip
pulling me closer.
We are breathing in step, hearts aligned, fingers crossed
but even now, I feel so far away.
I am a girl at the bottom of a well, staring up at the sky.
I want you to know that I’m here
trapped in the darkness
but my voice is quiet. It does not carry so well.
I feel like I’m screaming, but I know it's just in my head,
in the way I look at you and hope to see you looking back,
in those ambiguous comments that pass by you like signs to places you have no intention on going.
I need you to ask--
to look down into the well--
to see me.
I don’t want you to join me,
to save me.
No.
Just to recognize that I’m down here
and not just the warm body at your side.