Whispers--poems

Sting

I can’t do this right now.”

As he lifts his eyes from the ground

Don’t you see all this pain?”

Blurred eyes as he blinks, “Please…”

“You can’t fix this, there’s no way.”

He puts his head in his hand as if that softens the blow
whispers into his palm “Please don’t go.”

“Can’t you look at me when we talk?
Are you even listening?”

“Please stop”

“Then lift your head from your hands,
act like a man!”

Don’t you see? I can hardly breathe much less stand.”

She bites her pink lips
Hands fall from her hips.
“I don’t know how to help you if you won’t even listen.
You’d think taking your meds would be a given!
I’m tired of fighting for you to keep on living when
every word you speak is a lie and
baby…I’m afraid you’ll die”
Her shoulders shake but she keeps her head high
tears drop quietly upon her thigh,
“I know it’s not your fault, I never said it was but
somethings gone horribly wrong in this love.”

Louder now he begs her. “Please”

“No” She whispers more a thought than a word

But clearly across the room it’s heard
to the ears of a boy on his knees with his head in his hand
falling away as a broken man

“Tonight I’ll be free.”
She places a chain upon the counter
“Here, have your key. Listen, you need to go to therapy
perhaps me as well
I think we can still dig out of this hell”

Finally he sees her eyes, clear and blue
Always his demise
Shaking syllables come from his throat
“I’ll go to therapy if that’s what I need,
if that’s what you see-”

“I see too many lines on your arm in a run.”

“Shhh, I’m not done. Oh babe remember when it was
just you and me with nothing to prove and
no one to be?” He looked at her face,

She cried with such grace

“I see it’s not the same but I won’t pretend to feel shame
because everyone has bad days.
If there are absolutely no ways to heal this pain then
forgive me because I only ever wanted to give you everything.
And to tell the truth, the only thing I’ve ever loved about me,
was you.”
His words froze in his throat, still, he croaked. “But I get it,
We’re through.”
And he stood, despite not thinking he could. He crushed her tears with his thumb
and with shaky knees

her last kiss

left him weak

And with fingertips making circles on his cheek. She gave his heart
A final, painful squeeze.
Her words were the last ones he heard,
in the end.
They lasted much longer than originally meant.
“I will always love you,
you know.”

His mouth formed an O before he looked in her eyes and saw the pain mirrored inside.
“I know” he said
“But if you’re going to go,
then go.”