The taste of loss is cool metal

against a hot tongue

The smell of pennies and sulfur dancing

on taste buds and tear ducts.

The taste of loss is liquid mercury

running down your throat as you

choke on phrases of

“come back” and “don’t go”.

The taste of loss is the last bite of a delicious meal that does not

Live up to the others

A last bite that ruins the rest and leaves you wanting the bite before.

The taste of loss is the vapor that clouds your glasses

As you squint to see their shrinking figure moving further and further away

into memory

knowing they will vanish within minutes.

The taste of loss is a loss of taste.

Nothing appeals to the senses anymore.

A cup of coffee no longer delights,

it only reinforces the burn already felt in your chest.

Nothing looks the same

Nothing feels the same

Nothing smells the same

Nothing tastes the same because

every flavor is replaced with a biting taste,

the taste of loss.