If I left
Would you feel
Quite bereft?
Would you know
Where I might
Choose to go?
Maybe you’ll
Think of me,
Wonder what
Came to be?
Ask the sky,
Where is he?
So far gone
You can’t see
Distant light?
Could he be
Lost at night?
Doesn’t sound
At all right.
Once so close,
Spirits tight,
Not so now,
Burning fright.
Moves quite deft
Flames burn bright
Hide the theft
Soon now, no
Chances left?
Author’s Note: Most of this popped into my head late one night when I was sick recently, I think the combination of being up late and being in a daze from medication brought several sad thoughts to the forefront of my mind and then onto a notepad. With a few extra lines and just a little polishing up, this is the result. The title refers to how some people get a look on their face when they’re feeling sad. As for the poem, it’s sort of an exploration of loneliness, with the character wondering whether it would be better to cut their losses and stay alone vice tough things out for another chance. It seems like they’re going to tough it out, since they seem to be very concerned about how much a certain person or persons might miss them.
As an aside, from a structure standpoint, I was inspired in some small part by the blink-182 song “Dammit.” The verses in that song consist of lines that are only 3 syllables long: the result is that a message is sent in fewer words than it might otherwise be, which to me makes that message feel more emotional. That’s sort of how this poem felt, a bunch of emotions hitting the page at a rapid pace.
Catharsis & Creation 