Another Turn

The sun is brighter and the rivers dry up
Summers burn hotter

Even the winds are fiercer and the mountains shake

Winters grow colder

This planet will rend and tear, and have its revenge

And destroy us all

The Whispers

Whispers. I hear them in the darkness all around me, and I wonder what they’re saying. But I don’t listen too closely. I know that if I hear their words I’ll have to obey. I’m still so curious though. If I listen, what mysteries and secrets will I learn? Maybe everything. Or nothing.

My mom says it’s time for me to grow up, and to stop believing in such silly nonsense. I’ll tilt my head to the side sometimes, without realizing it, and she’ll know that I’m hearing the whispers. I try to stop. I go out with friends, play some sports. I even date a little. According to her, there’s nothing unsatisfactory about my life, which could cause me to still make up imaginary voices to talk to.

So why are the whispers still always there?

Did You Know?

Sometimes
I feel like the world’s stopped turning
Sometimes
When I remember you smiling at me

Sometimes

It was all so simple when we were younger
Sometimes
Everything was beautiful when looked at by two

Sometimes

We used to laugh so freely back then
Sometimes
And sing such silly songs together

Sometimes

Everywhere we ran, an enchanted forest to explore
Sometimes
You made me braver than I ever was alone

Sometimes

But the spell is now broken, we’re at an end
Sometimes
I look in the mirror but don’t see the face you loved

Sometimes

Have I forgotten what it means to be happy?
Sometimes
Trapped as I am, my life put on hold for you

Now and again

The only sighs I give are ones full of regret
Now I know
My heart’s turned to dust, and there’s nothing left

Sometimes

I wonder who let go first, you or me?

A Unique Flavor

Real thunder and lightning storms
Always smell of blood.
The taste lingers on the tongue.

Speak No

There are some conversations that I can never hold with you again. Once we crossed the line from friends to lovers, an empty hole was created between us, and many topics were sucked into its depths. This hole grew into a deep chasm from which nothing can escape. Even now, after time has passed and we’ve both grown enough separately to come together as friends once again, that gap exists. Those unspoken words are still there. We will never be able to shrink this space or eliminate it, but I thought perhaps we could stop it from becoming deeper.

Now I know that we can’t, because all that we’ve never discussed in the past was simply the precursor to all we never bring up now. And so the number of unsaid topics between us grows. It will never stop. Our friendship will one day end. Not because we took a chance on falling in love with each other, but because neither of us have the courage to reach into that breech and grab hold of some long-ago hurt or complaint and bring it out at last into the light of day. Instead, we stay silent to spare each other’s feelings, but especially to spare our own. And so between us the silence speaks ever more vociferously over time.

8.5.2014

“Selling your body does not make you weak. True weakness is selling your integrity, for any reason. Even worse though is convincing someone that because they are weak, they are worthless. Worth is not measured in weakness and strength, but in cruelty and compassion.”