Poems

A long time ago,
You confided in me.
Whispered your secrets
And grew steadily louder
Until they poured from your lips
Without a breath's pause.
We'd stay up late
Telling each other things
We could barely admit to ourselves.

A long time ago,
You relied on me.
Went to me for help
When you were troubled,
And asked me for advice
Like my words could
Turn your life around.
I'd talk until you were smiling
And things were so much better.

A long time ago,
You laughed with me.
We joked about the
Strangest things, and ignored
The bizarre looks we'd
Receive from people only
Half as cool as us.
We'd laugh until told to stop
And the world felt so much brighter.

A long time ago,
You said you loved me.
That you cared about me
And needed me to
Listen, help, and laugh with you.
I don't know what's saddest:
That I believed you at the time,
That you didn't really need me,
Or that it's all gone now.

-----

I can't help wondering who you're thinking of as I think of you.
Tell me, please, so I can run to them and make sure they're grateful.

I only wish it were still me, and I wish I'd kept myself together
So as to have kept you.

There are no spaces in my heart, for you're still there; but it aches.
With every dull beat it pumps that poison through my veins.

I'd run to you without pausing, without a breath,
If I thought for a second you'd be happy to see me.

I let you down, and by doing so, let myself down.
I'm not sure which did more damage.

---

Today, I watch
As the world begins to burn.
Chasms pull the people I love
Into devastating darkness.
I cry for my losses, and grow sadder,
As, watching them being pulled,
They turn from me and willingly
Leap into death, tearing my heart
To pieces and ripping themselves
From life -
Not only my life,
But life itself,
Just to escape my presence.
I watch towers collapse around me
Gracefully missing the small square of land
In which I stand;
Gladly committing me to being the
One person to lose, and see others lose,
But not win the peace of death;
Cruelly punishing me,
Taking and not giving,
Condemning and not sympathising,
Punishing and not taking mercy on.
I watch fires lick at the heels of
Innocent civilians, passersby,
Random unknowns to the caverns
Of my life.
I watch them burn, scream, die,
Feeling no pain myself,
And yet I wonder at their luck.
I wish for their good fortune.
I amaze myself at the complete
Disregard of sanity that I partake in.
Rubble surrounds me.
Strewn limbs, forlorn cries, tears
Streaked down every human's face.
I watch the caverns that swallowed
My friends, my family -
The reasons for my life and the reasons
That I'm living -
Close.
I watch the rubble disintegrate,
And the humans turn to ash,
And slowly fade away.
Still I stand there, crying,
Watching as the world I had known
Reduced itself and its tenants to nothing
But particles in the air.
I stand there, alone,
Tears running down my face,
Loss tearing at my heart,
Wishing things were different.
And it's then that I realise,
Though water quenches fire,
My tears can't stop the world from burning.