u/DismalArtist7418

The door is shut.
A quiet click.
You step outside.

The air feels different now.
Cooler, maybe.
Or just… yours.

You shed the old coat,
the one that never quite fit,
heavy with my expectations.

And underneath,
a shape you’d almost forgotten,
something real.

You’re learning to walk
without holding my hand,
your own steps lighter.

My absence, a blank space,
a canvas you’re filling
with your own bright colors.

It hurts, this quiet.
But I see you, breathing deep,
finally breathing you.

I wanted you to see,
to know.

But did I
open the floodgates
too soon?

Will you
be washed away
in a tide of
feelings
I shouldn't have let spill?
Thoughts
you never needed
to hear.

Flower blooms too late,
Sun has already moved on,
Petals start to fade.

The warm sun is setting,
and you're still walking alone.

The garden you dreamed of,
full of bright flowers,
is overgrown now,
weeds choking the last blooms.

The laughter you imagined,
like music filling a home,
is a quiet echo
in an empty room.

The hands you longed to hold,
grown a little stiff,
have lived so many stories
you weren't there to hear.

The song of your heart,
ready to sing out loud,
finds only silence
in a world that's moved on.

The path ahead feels long,
and the light is fading fast,
and the love you finally find,
feels like it's come too late.

Sun warms salty skin,
Longing for the ocean's touch,
Tide will not return.

I loved you.
It's the real truth.
I really did.

I needed you, you know?
Like air.

Then it changed.
Just wanting.
Not needing.

Now, who will know?
Who can tell
if it was ever real?

Heart spills on your shore,
Each drop a piece of my soul,
Take it all, please, love.

Love's tender secret,
Married vow, a silent ache,
Best friend, my true heart.

Little bits,
like glitter,
shedding off me.

A laugh shared,
a secret whispered,
a hand held a moment too long.

Each one,
a small offering,
left on your doorstep,
on your pillow,
in the quiet spaces between your words.

I hope you notice
the accumulation.
The way the air around you
starts to shimmer
with a little bit of me.

And then,
when you’re surrounded,
when the dust settles
and the light catches it all,

I hope you see
that it wasn’t just parts I was giving.
It was the whole of me,
building.

A dangerous house,
with me inside,
waiting.

Because this love,
it’s a steady, quiet ache,
a truth I carry
under my wedding ring.

And I can’t un-love
the friend
who feels like home,
even when home
is already occupied.

I want you,
I really do.
But then my feet
start walking
the other way.

My hands reach out
for something
I don't want at all.

My words spill out
like stones
when I meant
to whisper.

It's like a shadow
I can't shake,
pulling me
away from you.

This other me,
this stranger
who keeps showing up,
always picks
the wrong path.

That night,
I remember it.
My hands,
they reached inside.
Into your chest,
I found your heart,
beating wild.
I held it,
gently,
and stilled it.
Just for a moment.

I watch the street, the falling leaves,
the way your shadow stretches long.
It's not just your door I'm looking for,
but the rhythm of your days,
the birds that land on your fence,
the clouds that drift above your roof.
I trace the cracks in the pavement,
the patterns in the dew.
There are stories in the silence,
in the hum of the afternoon.
I see the world you inhabit,
more than just your passing by.

The water ripples,
distorting the light,
your face a mosaic
of broken pieces.
I see fragments,
a smile here,
a flicker of your eye there,
but never the whole.
This glass, this barrier,
you've placed between us,
it warps reality.
What I reach for
is not truly you,
but a twisted reflection,
a mirage of connection
that always slips away.

Smoke curls, thin and gray,
Bones hold ember's warm glow,
A silent, cool sigh.

Old Bones was his name, a skeleton grand,
He'd sit on the porch, a cigar in his hand.
The smoke would curl up, a wispy grey haze,
He'd wink at the moon in the silvery maze.

He wasn't all clacking, or spooky and grim,
There was a certain... allure about him.
His jawbone would click, a soft, measured sound,
As stories of old would happily abound.

He'd talk of his youth, though he had none to speak,
Of dancing with ghosts, the thrill, the mystique.
His empty eye sockets would gleam with a spark,
A flirtatious twinkle out there in the dark.

He'd pull on his cigar, a slow, thoughtful drag,
And tell of adventures, without any brag.
Of ladies he'd known, in days long since flown,
Their laughter, their secrets, now his alone.

The townsfolk would whisper, with curious eyes,
At the charming old fellow, beneath starry skies.
A skeleton dapper, with ash on his vest,
And tales that would put your heart to the test.

The scales tip.
Not with a gentle whisper,
but a heavy clatter.

A voice,
not of reason,
but of consequence.

It doesn't plead.
It doesn't explain.

It speaks in sharp,
metallic syllables,
loaded and ready.

Ten chances,
each one a truth
delivered with force.

No soft words,
just the weight
of what's been done.

Steel tongue, sharp and loud,
Justice speaks with potent rounds,
Truth finds its true aim.

Links of bright fire,
Unbroken, a sudden chain,
Trust's swift, strong bright flash.

The coin spins.
Heads or tails,
a whisper of both
lives within us.

The open palm,
offering bread,
a gentle touch,
a word of comfort.
That is Yeshua.

The shadowed glance,
the whispered price,
a turning away
when things get hard.
That is Judas.

We walk the path,
and the crossroads appear.
A choice, small or grand,
each breath a decision.

The heart can bloom
like a desert flower,
or harden
like a stone.

The seed is sown,
but the harvest is ours to tend.
Will we nourish
the light, or the shadow?

Both paths are real,
waiting for our step.
The potential sleeps,
ready to wake.

Like a seedling,
pushing through hard ground,
love doesn't stop.

It might feel
like a cold wind,
trying to break it.
But love is a quiet strength.

It bends, maybe,
but doesn't snap.
It finds the sun again,
always.

Even when the sky
is grey and heavy,
love whispers,
"Hold on."

It’s a steady hand,
a warm breath.
It sees the light,
even in the dark.

Love undauntedly.
It just keeps going.

A seed, love.
Sunlight, life.
Water, laughter.
Then the frost, hate.
 
Roots entangled,
Knotted beneath the soil,
Life's dance, a wild bloom.
Love, a gentle rain,
Laughter, the buzzing bee.
Hate, the biting frost.
 
A fragile bloom, love,
Reaching for the sun, life.
Swaying in the breeze, laughter.
Until the harsh wind, hate,
Bends it to the earth.
 
But the roots remain, love.
Life pushes through the soil.
Laughter, a stubborn sprout.
Hate, a shadow, fading.
Sol’s light, life's warm kiss.