It is never enough

It is never enough

Just to write about it.

Sometimes the pain

Is too great to rhyme.

That process is too easy,

Thinking one line

At a time.

It demeans the feelings,

Leaving them hollow,

And shallow even when

The words used are strong,

The sentences short, not long,

And the images they conjure

Full of power,

Soaked in colour,

Rich in texture and context,

With sharply drawn,

Meaningful metaphors

That fall into focus

Without the need

For heady explanation.

How do they ever

Really capture

The truth of it,

When sometimes a backfire

Can stop the heart,

Push you into the wall,

Afraid of a shadow,

Even when the

Only one to fall is your own.

What happens when truth

Becomes mired

In wish fulfilment.

As dreams bleed into waking.

When even small things,

Once completed

Without a thought,

Assume the proportion

Of a mountain range.

Every decision a monolith.

Standing on a threshold

A step into oblivion.

Negotiating the price

Of a cup of coffee

The equivalent

Of sitting a paper

In particle physics.

And all the while

The anxiety

Tightens its grip.

The heart in your chest

Beating with such ferocity

It hurts.

The noise deafening.

It is a wonder nobody else

Can hear it,

Because they don’t.

Some say they try

But they won’t

Why would they put themselves

Through that,

And for what,

Just to be neighbourly?

And just to rub it in

You better not be too hasty

With your dismissal.

Be careful,

You might just find

The one person who

Does, really care.

They are out there,

Somewhere.

And if you do happen

To find one,

Let them in,

Or they might slip through

The bars on your

Windows,

Whilst you are lost

On the inside,

Too busy

Counting the cost

Of your heartache,

To notice.