I told you a story.
You listened with greedy ears
and hands outstretched,
probing
violating.
You poked and prodded at my words
until their edges flaked away,
Their syllables disjointed
and crushed
In the stifling grip of your intellect.
You displayed them on your
trophy shelf,
glistening next to your smug smile,
Their meanings
contorted to please your
hungry heart.
I told you a story,
But you told me yours
Instead of hearing mine.
So I retreated,
Leaving you in the company of your pride
And your internal applause
And you didn't even see me slip away.
A sharp inhale,
A pensive silence.
Why say anything more?
I reconsider my self-disclosure,
Longing for your partnership
But knowing I could do without it.
In truth,
I'd have more space to breathe
and to be me
My love could soar in an endless stream
Without a worry of whether you'd be there to
receive it.
You, on the contrary
Need me more than you know.
For without me
Your heart would betray you,
Pumping life into limbs
that will sweep you into a frigid sea.
The sun will grow dim
And you'll lose your breath,
Your raspy cries just a note in the droning wind.
What do you want?
You stand, unfeeling,
your hands coiled around the elegant trophy
That used to be mine.
Your knuckles are white.
If only you knew that
Smothering my story
Is denying your own
And even more than you are bound up
in your own sophistication
I am bound to you.
And what you do with clenched fists
And a staunch stare
I can bring you to effortlessly.
Because all that you know
Resides in simplicity too.
You'll sense the sameness in our souls,
our interlocking journeys
And the triumphant surrender
of letting go.
Because to hear my words
Is to find yourself.
We want the same thing,
To reach the same end.
Our story
My story
Will direct you there.
I think all this
But say nothing
Waiting for you to turn around
in a fit of love
and remorse,
pining for a reunion.
But you don't, and that's okay.
It's all part of the story.
Maybe me just wanting this is enough for you.
My love will swell through the silence
Rippling through your lovely mind
Until your knowledge
relinquishes its solitary reign
And merges with mine.
I'll tell you my story
and you won't even need to
listen
because
You'll just know.
One day.
For now, I'll feign distance
And let the silence do its work.
