Stranglehold

Our affection was a prison
Our attraction, chains
The key tightly wound
Kept away in fear
In our interlocked grip
While we wilted in each other's arms
Our gaze fixed on opposite walls
Our hearts enstranged
Afrighted
Desiring the promise in a dying ember
A warmth that once sparked our dreams
To survive together
To live free
But our embrace became a noose
Indecision a tightening guillotine
Yet too afraid to make a choice
Our death not enough the price

But our will only held us captive
We never thought one day
We'd have to walk through this gate
Together.
But then fly apart.
Without our chains.