You are asking me to denounce the very thing that has defined me,
that has brought me here,
challenged me to be better, a better person, a more engaged and loving soul.

You are asking me to ignore the very thing that has made this life tolerable,
that has made the colors of life seen brighter,
the sounds of nature and man more lovely and endearing.

You are asking me to give up the hope that one day, possibly one moment,
I will again see those eyes and get lost in them,
you are asking me to give up hope that I will feel two hearts beating at my chest,
you are asking me to give up hope of feeling warm breath on my cheek and hearing the words “I love you”, hearing those precious words filled with such meaning, the words “I love you” whispered in my ear.

You are asking me to deny all that has made this life worth living, for what, to live on the dark cold grey illusion you call “real”?

Even in this pain of knowing I might never again know love, that pain that fills every moment, I would rather have that and hope then to not have any hope at all.

You are asking me to say good-bye to everything I know, everything I am.

No, I will not. I would rather  live feeling the pain of separation with a glimmer of hope than to live feeling nothing.