The Reckoning

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.