People always focused their attention on him.
Maybe it was because he was reckless and young, always making mistakes.
Whereas, she was responsible and kind and selfless.
When they were together, she felt like an afterthought.
And so she became one.
I wish I could have saved her from that feeling.
I wish I would have told her sooner, the truth:
that she has always been the sun.
Sitting around a campfire, she tells me about him.
“Can you believe we have been together for seven years?” She asks smiling.
“We were high school sweet hearts…” her voice fades as the heat from the fire
illuminates her eyes. She doesn’t look like a woman who is happy and in love.
“Where is he tonight?” I ask with a reassuring smile.
“Oh, we are taking some time apart,” she shrugs. “But it has always been
this way, and he always comes back to me.” I stare silently into the fire, knowing
what it feels like to be the one who loves more and is loved less. Much less.
“Maybe the point isn’t that he always comes back,” I say, turning to
look at her. “Maybe the point is, he always leaves.”
Little habits,
turned to annoyances.
The snores through out
the night, louder than a train.
The smacking of your food,
smack-smack-smack.
Moments, quick to anger over
little nothings.
An instant, wondering if
this will all be
enough.
Age turns wrinkles
into experience, morphing
bodies into strangers.
Accomplishments
weighing heavy, together.
A family formed, with
pride and struggle.
The greatest fight
ever fought.
The best kind of work, but
most challenging, too.
The tedious ticking
of the clock as
twenty-six years pass,
and every day
begins to fade
together.
The saturday morning
coffee’s, sometimes
monotonous.
Nuance comes and goes,
like the seasons.
A life shared
is not truly
your own.
And yet, after all this
time, they wake up
and say, “I still choose you.”
Editor’s Note: A poem dedicated to the two most influential and supportive people in my life: my parents. Whose love and commitment to their family and one another, inspires me daily. It has been a beautiful life. Still is.
When I am with you
it’s like
I have never been broken.
You wrap me in your arms
as if
my touch
is the only thing keeping you alive.
Your smile
swallows me,
deeper than
the ocean.
Your kiss
ends worlds,
my world.
My heart is a place that wanders,
but
I can be good, if
you take me
as you found me.
And I don’t know what’s left
of me,
but you can have it
if you want.
I never said sorry
for the part of you
I killed.
And I know
you wont believe me,
but
I gave you
everything
I had.
