My Failure To Realize
You said once that our love
Was something unique.
Something we could cherish together
For ages to come.
You leaned on me
And I held you
As closely as I could
For you were only a child.
We shared our joys
And made promises to never
Hate or be hated.
I trusted you, but never
Should I have tried
To lean against you
In my times of despair.
For you were only a child.
Enjoying your youth and
Playfully bouncing along
By my side. When you hurt
You'd lean against me.
I'd offer you all warmth within me
Even if it left me feeling as
If all the happiness had gone from my being.
For you were only a child.
You never needed to have grown up
In the midst of such a war.
13 years of age and left alone.
I tried my best to improve what little
Love remained; Cultured and raised it
Like a plant; I devoted myself to you.
Silly I should have expected anything back
For you were only a child.
You never knew what to say.
But your presence is what brightened
The darkest of my days and lifted me
Out of the hellish throes of sleep.
Just by being you is what brought me
My salvation. You never understood what
Really happened to me; How could you?
You were only a child.
And as I withered away you,
Like any young person noticed nothing.
You spoke up once or twice, but always
Went galloping off at those two words:
"I'm fine." For how could I have torn you apart;
Killed what I'd worked so hard to try and keep alive.
And so I bottled it up and plastered a smile on my face.
You never questioned, for you always were and forever continued to be only a child.
Alexander Teljeur
March 2013
