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Sep 2020 · 48
Love in a Time of Disease
Mary Sep 2020
Sometimes,
I get tired.
You should know
That I try to tell you;
I try to tell you my sorrows and woes.'
Sometimes,
Yes sometimes
I try.
You should know that you are not alone,
Yet you act as such.
You should know that I will always console,
Yet you break me apart.
Hundreds of miles away,
Millions of people dying,
A billion problems between us;
I put on a brave face.
You,
You do not.
Sometimes
I am exhausted.
You should know
That I have an amazingly brave face.
When we talk
Through tearful texts and cold calls,
I am an amazingly brave face.
You are not.
You should already know
You aren't shouldering the weight of our world--
I am.
I always have.
Sometimes
You drain me.
The way your voice aches for attention
And pines for premature pain.
The way your eyes yours eyes always water,
How they cloud.
Cloud with doubt.
Or sadness
Or dejectedness
Like I've rejected you.
Do you know who I am?
I am your lover before this
And your lover afterwards!
But sometimes,
Sometimes
I question if you
Accept that.
Why do I put on a brave face?
One of us had to be the strong one,
I guess.
Sep 2020 · 52
Pretty
Mary Sep 2020
I had a dream
You and I laid together.
It was strange to see you;
How long ago we last laid it seemed!
Your hair the color of chocolate
And mine the shade of fire.
You and I could conquer the world,
Fight our fiercest fears,
Defeat our dastardly doubters.
Oh, we were such foolish teens!
You held me tight
With gangly arms
And nuzzled me sweetly,
Staring with distracted eyes.
"You are so pretty."
Phrases like fuel to my heart.
"You're lovely."
Syllables like steroids to my mind.
"I love you."
I love too, reaching
Reaching
To touch your pocked face
And that sweet little smirk.
You held me under you,
Held me tight and safe
And I
Feared nothing.
In your oily voice,
Drenched in troubled-teenage
Spirit
You said,
"I love you."
With that crude smile
"So much."
With that wince as I widened my eyes
"Don't you love me too?"
And I
Said
"I do not trust you."
It was courage, bravery; a Herculean
Feat.
I lept to my feet,
Growing in stature.
Bare and Bold
I stood my ground.
"I do not trust you."
I pushed down your damnations
And annihilated your accusations,
Careening to the door.
An escape, an exit, please.
Please, Lord, please.
I was victorious and valeant
And I was proud of me.
What a glorious dream.
Because in reality,
You called me pretty and you were right;
Pretty
Stupid,
Disappointing,
Aggravating,
Weak, whorseome,
Sad, broken
Disposable worthless
Horrible hideous hellish horrendous
Stupendously dull and too attached.
I was too attached
To trust myself
To let myself
Set myself
free.
I didn't
Couldn't
Wouldn't
go free.

— The End —