The Nature of Heartbreak’s Past
By William “Middle Child” Barrett IV
I don’t have the capacity for this
Insufficient release
Hard to come to terms unwritten
Wishing upon any constellation with
The right guidance
My peace amongst trees
My days feel like the trunks of sequoia
My blood redwood
Drain me like sap from the maple tree
I’ll be in season when you need
And when it’s all over
Tell me it was sweet
Even if you have to lie to me
Tell me beautiful lies
When your tongue
Can’t stand the bitter taste
Of your words
Since you slipped my embrace
I’ve made many a new mattress my resting place
Floating amongst seas of uncertainty
Hoping to land back onto familiar shores
I hope I’d be a gentle breeze
To ease the raging hurricane
I still feel a storm
clouding my conscious
There’s a pattern to the shatter
Stained with my blood
Stained by love
Shattered by passions
Riveting forces hit like earthquakes
I’m stunned
Not enough ink in my pen could account
For the loss of words I’m experiencing
Gasping for waters I seek
When everything binding me slips
I freeze
Nerves like ice
Swallowing my breath
With every inhale
Your presence like the moon
Pushing the tides in me to the sandy shores
Forced to confront emotions I try to ignore
So even if we don’t speak
If our eyes are never to look upon each other
I hope in your dreams
Even when it’s all over and the seasons change anew
With leaves of different hues
Tell me it was sweet
Like sap from the maple tree
Even if you have to lie to me
Just tell me it was sweet