let's be friends

let's be friends
she says,
without benefits, without
the quagmire
of sex
and intimacy.
let's have a conversation
and sit
by the fire,
wile the hours away
with tv,
talk about life,
and books,
things that make
us happy.

we can take long

walks

without holding hands.
let's be friends she says,
sipping
her herbal tea and lighting
a candle.
let's keep it this way,
so that things
won't end.