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Elizabeth Burns Oct 2016
The significance of this day is undiscovered
And I walk melancholic
On this lonely path

This is my last day
To roam the corridors
To hear their carefree laughter
To be alive in this moment

This is the last day
I am bewildred by my thoughts
Of misery and a subdued heart

I can not be here
I can not dream
I can not succumb to tears

I am alone

I walk alone
I cry alone

No one will care about my morbid heat
No one will care about what my future holds

I am alone
On this awkward,
Lonesome,
Melancholic path.

I am alone.
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
When you left
I let go
Of him
And held onto the thought
Of you
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
Dear you.                                      11/08/2018

I wish you had waited.
I wish you didn't fall in love with me
So quickly
I wish you kept your feelings to yourself
I wish that I had left you alone
I wish we had let our friendship take a break
The day I wanted to end our friendship
When the thought of you being friends with Damian... Made me so insecure
And I knew that day
Being involved with you was wrong
I needed to heal
I needed time for myself
To be alone
I wish I had told you then that you should leave me alone for a few months
You and I being friends was never healthy
Memories of Damian lingered in every single conversation of ours
Every single time we kissed
I couldn't heal properly
I knew you were my connection to him
I wanted so badly to prove to him that I was happy without him
I took your phone and posted those statuses
Because I wanted him to see
And you knew that
I know you did
I'm sorry I used you
But you allowed me to

You came into my life
Wanting heal this broken girl
I don't know why
I don't know if you had a plan
If your intentions were ever pure
I don't know
But I wish we had put it on hold

I wish you came now
It's nearly a year since Damian and I now
Now would've been a good time
If I had cast you away
That day I felt so insecure
And met up now
We would've had magic
Oh you could make me laugh
God, I miss laughing with you

But I wasn't ready for a serious relationship so soon after Damian
You know I wasn't ready
But you persisted
You begged
And eventually I caved
And I went with the flow
I let you kiss me
I let you touch me
I let my inhibitions go
I let go of my purity
And I let you take everything
Without as much as a thought

It was a mistake
All of it
I was never ready
And I know you know that
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
dear you

You treated me like a queen
And I pushed you away
I know I did
And you did too
You knew I deliberately pushed
Because I knew I wasn't ready
I pushed you to the edge
I'm so sorry
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
Dear You

I wish I met you first
Before Damian
I wish you chatted me up first
I wish you were my first everything
We would have been perfect
No issues
No Damian
We would've done it right
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
Dear Kewan

I miss you
I really do
And this isn't a cry out because I'm lonely
Or feeling sorry for myself
I miss you
I miss the you who was so in love with me
Who wouldn't give up in arguments
I miss the you I would get irritated with
Because I wasn't ready for a relationship
I miss the you I'd scream at
And push away
When all you wanted to do was love me
Oh Kewan
I miss you
And pushed you over the edge
Please don't meet someone
Please
Please wait for me
Wait for me to heal properly this year
All I ever needed was time
All I ever needed was time alone
Before you stepped in the moment he left
I needed to grieve him
I never had a chance to
We rushed into a relationship
Too fast
Kewan please wait for me
Please
We had wrong timing
That was all
God
Please let him see what I see now
Please God
Please let him miss me
Please please please
Come back to me
Elizabeth Burns Apr 2018
You put a stone in my palm
One that was buried in the sand of the beach
One that had a home in the sea

And you said to me,
"Throw it. And throw it far.
This represents him.
All the pain he created in your life.
All the turmoil and heartache
And the pieces of your heart
That still long for him.
Throw it as far as you can
And let him go."


Tears escaped my eyes
And I knew in my heart you were gone
I don't long for you anymore
I don't miss you
I'm not angry
Although I do feel sympathy
I feel sorry for the man you are
And I pray to God you heal
And can treat a woman right one day
The way he treats me...
No woman deserves the hell you put me through
But it's in the past
It's been a good long six months
I think it's time I let go
I think it's time I stop looking through our messages
I think it's time I give him my whole heart
Every part of me
Well, the broken piece left after all you took
You took everything I had
I gave you all I had
But he, he cherishes this piece
Although it's broken,
It is sacred to him
He's healing me slowly
He's making God the centre
He loves me... For real this time...
Not just empty words and empty promises

It's time I let you go, stranger
I don't believe I can call you by name anymore
I don't own you
You're not mine
I can't even call you ****** names
It's not right

So this is my goodbye
This is my letting go
With the stone falling into the waves
And carried into tide
Stranger,
I'm letting you go.
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2018
It's crazy how life
Can be one thing for so long
And one moment life
Everything changes
Everything is different
And suddenly you're on a different path
Life is predictable
Don't you dare think
You can control
This whirlwind temptress
We call life
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2018
Appreciate your days
Appreciate morning filled with irritation.
Appreciate sunlight.
Appreciate fresh hair.
Appreciate every **** day
like it's a gift - because
that's what it is.

Life's unpredictable
And every day you get on this earth is
A Gift.
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2016
Lily of the Valley
Is your heart still pure?
Or are you wrought with doubt?
My dear, you are cleansed in Him
Your naked body before Him
Your rags are cleaned
And forever you will be
His Princess...
His Pure Lily of the Valley
Elizabeth Burns Sep 2019
Little bird

How I envy you in flight, little bird
How I envy how you reach out and you bury yourself into the air
How you can so easily glide in the wind
And how you're free

How I envy you, little bird
How I envy your beak
That doesn't get disturbed when singing
That is able to speak out to truth to the world
Because you're free

How I envy you, little bird
How you're at peace with yourself
And the way you so gracefully show your peace within
Your peace with nature and all that is good
And the way you're free to be in whichever state you wish

How I envy you, little bird
How your feathers rustle in the wind
And the way you're covered from head to toe
The way you're not empty and alone
The way you feel at home
Because you're free

How I envy you, little bird
Because you're not trapped in this hospital room
You can go wherever you please
You're not sick like me

How I envy you, little bird
Because with all my heart I wish I was you
How I envy you, little bird
Because you're not me

You're free
Elizabeth Burns Mar 2018
I think a part of my heart is lost
Lost in a sea of oblivion
From all the hands that have let go
Of my trust
All the hearts that ache in this sad world

I don't want you to go
Please hold on for me
Stay
I can't lose another soul
Elizabeth Burns Dec 2016
I had a conversation with the man who haunts my dreams
Who wanders around my mind like a lost soul
With the man who broke my heart...
Who shattered my innocent dreams of love
And we spoke
It felt unreal
Surreal
Psychedelic perhaps
It felt like a dream speaking to him again
A fantasy perhaps
We haven't spoken in a year
He's broken me
He's hurt me
He's shattered my heart
But no
Not this time
This time I am a warrior
Slashing his words
And menacingly swallowing every look his eyes have as they trail down my body
With lust
No love
Not an ounce of love

We were just a game of lust
You lusted over my body
I loved your artistic melodious heart

You want me physically
I want emotional depth

You want my body
I want your heart

You said I was lost
I am broken
I can not see my path any longer

You were right about that

You always know my heart
But then you seek more...
The more I can not give
For innocence is all I have
To give this world

And this time...
I'm letting you go, lover boy

For you and I can never be
We are too broken for one another
Two shattered souls can never try to seek love from one another
For we only find emotional depth
Something beyond my wildest dreams
I find in you.

But I am letting go
Letting go of your tug on my heart
On those shattered pieces you left in me

Go
Leave
Get out of my heart.
Elizabeth Burns Mar 2017
"I'm not in love with you anymore"
You pronounced without a trace of doubt in yiur eyes
Nor a care
For my broken heart
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2017
Love doesn't last.
It dies and romance fades
and fights brew and
nothing is left but
ashes in the wind
of your broken, pitiful heart.
Elizabeth Burns Jun 2018
Mad mad mad

She's mad in her head
Crazed in her mind
Oh brilliant starlight
How you glisten

Like her Cheshire Cat smile

Oh she's mad dear
She's mad


She's living in a madhouse
Wind her up
And you'll have a ******
on your hands

Mad girl
Run run run

Nostalgic for the past

Madhouse madhouse
Run run run*

She's a loon
She's mad
Balistic

She's an enigma just for you
Living in this madhouse
Elizabeth Burns Mar 2016
I think it's your impact that matters
The memory you leave with someone
Do I actually make  a difference?
Have I changed his point of you, his thought patterns?
Have I made a dent?
A mark that stains and never goes away

Will, even my smile, stay in his memory?
Does he even remember my name

I think that's what we want most
To leave  a dent
A mark
To stay within someone's heart
Leave a memory...

Will they remember me?
A face with sad eyes that hid tears
With a beaming smile...
A heart on her sleeve...
Her emotions always bare...

Will they remember me?
And my blonde hair

Will they remember me
Blue eyes that always try to shine
Stay positive
Bring out the light

Will they remember
My sensitive soul
And gentle heart
That always tries to love

Will they even remember...
My heart
Will they even rememb...
My soul
Will they even rem...
My smile
Will they even...
My glance
Will they...
My words.
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
I...
I had something amazing
I had a guy
Who was so in love with me
And I ******* it up
I messed it up
He opened doors
He didn't give up in arguments
I pushed him to the edge
He loved me
I ******* up
And so did he
I miss him
So much
Oh God
He was the cliche love story
He was everything
And now he's changed
What happened to him
Elizabeth Burns Jul 2017
"Money money money
Must be funny
In a rich man's world"

I feel this
Quite strongly
How money can be such a waste
In the hands of a foolish man

Who squander
And spend on sights
And grand designs
And delectable foods

Just to say
"I have..."
"I've seen..."

But I ask you,
Man with money easily in his grip...
Have you ever seen death before your eyes
Have you ever had your dreams shattered?
Have you?!
Rich man
Money man!!
Have you ever lost...
Have you ever felt anything
But glory at that money that so easily touches your fingertips
Money man!
I'm speaking to you
Do you hear me?

Have you lived?
Have you truly loved...

Have you ever seen a man lose his voice
Have you ever seen a man lose his legs

And I'm not talking about a documentary
Or some video on YouTube
Or a movie you pronounced was "deep"

Have you seen it with your heart?
Have you felt his pain
That stares you in the eyes
As his tortured soul claws behind his eyelids
Screaming
"can you hear me?"
Behind my blinking eyes
And this **** machine that speaks for me...

Oh money man,
Have you ever been inspired by someone other than yourself...
By your grand reputiour...
And the life you've made for yourself...

Oh money man...
I used to envy You
With your high romance
And life of grandeur and limelight

Although, I think you envy me
For I have seen more than you
My eyes are filled with courage because I live on
Even though I have seen the hardness of this life
Death has crossed my eyes
And I,
I hold no fear

But you,
You, Mr Money Man,
Your eyes...
They
Are
empty.
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2016
As of late I have felt uninspired
And I apologise profusely
To me
For being morbid
For being absolutely absurd
And not treasuring a single moment any more
I used to have moments of impact
Moments that I could hold onto
I've lost that
I don't know how
But I have
And this is a sad truth I have established
My sad life
Filled with brilliance
Yet I walk morbidly in the misty night
Embarking on a journey
Yet losing sight of the prize
Elizabeth Burns Apr 2016
Morning air
Cold and loud
Crisp at the touch
Whispering wonders of wisdom
And freezing my flesh.
Elizabeth Burns Jul 2018
Who knew
She'd be so influential
That she'd trap you
That she'd make me evil
In your eyes
She's probably made you delete my pictures
Throw away my gifts
And she's probably
Gripped her claws
Into every fond memory of me
Elizabeth Burns Mar 2017
Love
What a hopeless pitiful dream you are
The books...
They lied.
You're not unconditional
You're conditional and you deteriorate
You destroy
You pester
And you gnaw at my character
You chip away pieces of me
You are my greatest disaster
My biggest mistake
Elizabeth Burns Jul 2016
I'm just in a realm
Where I am quizzical about death
I ponder on his steps
After he took you away
Before my eyes
"Death
Be not proud, though some have called thee mighty and dreadful,
For thou art not so."

Death
My state of mind
Wonders about you
Death
You came like a thief in the night
This is now my frame of mind.
Elizabeth Burns Jun 2016
I was going to write some
Raw truth
Alas the backspace overpowered
And my ugly truth
That I fail to accept

was erased

It is a fun game
That this keyboard
This black ink on this temporary white screen
Can so easily disappear
Can so quickly be erased
Without a single trace of it

And I pity this page
My page
That can so easily be erased
By this electronic eraser
That clears my ugly truth
That I can never seem to...

And ****!

You will never know the words I was going to say
For they were just erased
And deleted
From this electronic white page
By my electronic eraser
That distorts my ugly truth
That....

****


It's like a magic trick
This thing
You'll never know my final stanza because
Of my contemplative fingers
That too easily erase.

**** **** ****
The writers' fingers go
They race
I can hear those backspace buttons ringing through the air
Of this dead, echoing night
Erasing their thoughts
Because of
hesitation
Doubt
Contemplation
The worry that they won't care
About that last line you were itching to write

Tell me
Do you hear them
Loud and clear
In the drumming air

****! ****! ****!

The writers' words
That will
Infinitely
Be
erased.
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2016
And when we fell in love...
I couldn't quite decide what to do with these
Overwhelming feelings in my heart
The way your touch makes me feel alive
The manner in which you place your lips on mine and I experience life for the first time
You are mine
And I am forever yours...

You speak about us
As if we are infinite
There is no end to us
You plan to be mine forever
And, God, I wouldn't mind waking up to that glorious smile for the rest of my life
You say, in five years... We'll be planning...
You have faith in us
You want me
You actually want my tired soul
And worn eyes
And I want you...
I want your bad moods
I want the blistering cold
I want dark nights filled with your warmth
No matter where life takes us
I want you to be my forever
I will be here
I will stand by you for us

My forever...
I'd never thought I'd find such love so young...
Oh, God, Let it be.
Quite a romantic outburst...
Elizabeth Burns Feb 2017
My heart
Your shattered pieces
Lie idly on the floor
Tears in every gap
Wet
Gasping
You cry
You lie there
Your heart wrenched out
Deafened by the screams inside your soul
Cry, baby girl
For days and days
You cry
God, I can't
I can't take it any longer
I can't
I need a hero
I need someone to mend me
I can't take this broken feeling anymore
Somebody save me
Anybody
Please
Elizabeth Burns Oct 2016
There is not a single creative bone in my body
At this moment in my life
I am trying
I am begging
To feel inspired by something in my life at this moment
But all my life is at this moment
Is an arrangement of morbid depression and a constant, pounding tiredness
I can not awaken
My future looks dull
And there is nothing I can do
But carry on
On this hopeless trail
As I follow the life planned out for me
Oh so perfectly
I follow you
I follow your steps
Your path
And I declare
That I am tired
Of this hopeless, tired walk
I allow myself to walk.
Much love from a hopeless heart void of creativity and numbed by society's ongoing pull and need to walk on
For what?
Elizabeth Burns Jun 2017
Poetry, I miss your subtle touch
I miss your sweet embrace
I miss your palms against my skin
Whimsically taking me away from this place...
Oh, Poetry
Touch me again
Elizabeth Burns Sep 2017
I don't know if you and I can make each other happy
I don't know how we're going to make this work
I don't
And my blue eyes are lost
In this misery
I can't
I don't know what to do anymore
I'm lost baby
I'm so lost
Elizabeth Burns Feb 2016
A chorus of layered sounds singing as one unit like a melodious choir, I heard the crepuscular creatures chirping along their bird sounds and awakening the night sky and dawning the morning sun. They sang with charisma and grace as the brazen sun  showed her hidden face.
A melodious cacophony of sounds to be heard in such early morning's grace.
A disarray of chaotic beauty.
These are the clamorous, yet elegant sounds of my morning song.
Elizabeth Burns Sep 2016
I know I shouldn't say this
I know
I know I shouldn't miss you
I shouldn't want you
I shouldn't think I need you because
I don't
Well that's what I keep on telling myself
You've caused me so much pain
Yet I miss you with such an ache in my heart
And God, God, I know I shouldn't
He's broken me
God, take this out of me
Take it out!
I do not wish to have him again
I do not wish for the hurt he caused me
The way he made me hate every man
And fear to succumb to any man's love
Or comment on my appearance
For the fear he caused in me...
The fear of man taking away that innocence...
God, he was my muse
God, I do not want him to be my muse any longer
God, I want a new muse
God, give me a muse
Give me a passion that will ignite
God, give me a love that I cannot get out of my heart
God help me
God help me
I need a new muse
I need to find my muse in a newfound love
In a high romance
I want a passion
And a crimson heart
That is set on fire
From that romance
God, help me
Help me
Find
My
New
Muse.
Elizabeth Burns Feb 2016
My music is here
Oh my rain song
You have arrived with
Your dripping outside my window
I pause my playlist
Because your sound is just too great
It is much more powerful than any melody
Oh, rain song
You are my sanity
You are the perfect music of my heart
The windy breeze
The leaves dancing in the trees
The dripping of the rain
Singing me to sleep...

Oh, my music is here
With your thunderous beating
With your quiet undertone
Dripping
Banging
Oh, I do hear you
Music of nature
Music of this mysterious night
Mistifying me
Singing her thunderous, meandering lullaby...

All night I have searched for a song
Humming along
But now...
Oh yes, I bow down to your glorious sound
I give you a clap of praise
Like the sound of thunder pounding on the air
Being heard...

Oh, yes, my music has arrived
My music is finally here.
Elizabeth Burns Jul 2016
Rooi rosige wange
En n eerlike mond
n Hart van goud
My Ouma
Ek sal nooit ooit my Ouma met Rooi wange En die mooiste glimlag vergeet nie
En jou lag
Jou stewige lag
Jou Hart Wat so vol liefde was
My Ouma
Ek sal nooit vergeet dat dit was jy Wat vir my afrikaans geleer het
Ek het dit altyd met jou gepraat
My Ouma
Jou geselskap was altyd eerlik En jy het altyd my hart verstaan
My Ouma
Wat so lief vir Facebook was
My Ouma
Van muis stories
En my Ouma
saam met Wie Ek gebak het
My Ouma Van rose
My Ouma Van liefde
My Ouma Van lang goodbyes
En altyd ons ding
Waar ons het gese
Ons is so lief vir mekaar
My Ouma
Ek sal altyd dankbaar wees
Vir ons tyd saam
My lieflike Ouma
Ek sal jou met Rooi wange
En blou grimering onthou
My regte egte Ouma
Ek sal jou lag altyd ****
En jou laaste glimlag sien
En lippe Wat gese:
"Ek is so lief vir jou, my skat. Altyd."
Ouma Ek sal jou nooit ooit vergeet nie
Ouma
Ouma
My mooiste ouma
Van rose
En Rooi wange.

Totsiens my Ouma
This is an Afrikaans poem dedicated to my grandmother (Ouma). She passed away last night and she was very close to me.
Hoping some of you can understand the words...

RIP My Ouma (my grandmother).
Elizabeth Burns Sep 2016
Perhaps I've been searching for you all my life...
A piece that has been missing from me
You've felt what I've felt
You've lived apart from me
All this time
We've lived separate lives
Yet my heart has always been yours
You are my soul thief
You stole it before we even met
The day you came into my life
I became yours
Elizabeth Burns Apr 2018
The beach has a tone
Of romance
Of suffocating brilliance
Crystal salt glistens on the beach
And you walk beside me
My pillar of strength
My Man of God
I love you...

We stand
The ocean breeze in my hair
And my hand in yours
Firm and strong
To keep me safe

There's something about the ocean
The beach
Something that makes me buzz

I gave myself to you this morning...
All of me
Every part of me is yours

I love you

You are mine
And I am Yours
Your bride to be...
As you say,
You can't wait
Until you can whisper
"My wife, my love..."

I gave my body to you
I give you my soul
I give you my heart
I give you my life

I am Yours and You are mine

As I say, there's something mystical about the beach
I'm glad it happened here
With the sound of waves crashing in my ears  
As you crashed into me...
Loving me ever so softly
Gently

Oh what a lover You are

I love you
Elizabeth Burns Mar 2016
Perhaps this generation has lost the art of mystique
To keep oneself pure
To be loved fully
To be embraces with sincerity
Perhaps I've lost my art of mystique
To guard my heart...
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2018
My haemotologist told me today
That I'm pretty interesting
I'm quite cheeky
And I should write a book someday

As he was doing the bone marrow test
I told him my stories
Ridiculous stories from my life
The hilarious one of how I crushed my toes when I was seventeen
(don't worry, I do have toes today, but that's a story for another day)
The enchanting, exciting tale of how I broke my arm
As he was injecting into my bone
I wanted to scream
I merely told my story
"I was jumping on the trampoline and i nearly jumped on this little boy's face-"
"you jump on people's faces? Now I'm scared, girl!"
"No, no. To avoid that I... I... I jumped back..."
And then he started injecting
And needles scare the hell out of me
And I screamed
"back and back and back and back...AND BACK! OH GOD, IS IT OVER YET?"
I've dealt with so much pain, but I still can't handle needles. Cancer tries to set that fear alight, but I'm still afraid.

"No, not yet."
I guess that's what my life is
This endless amount of pain
This constant betrayal from life
"okay okay okay, I'll tell another story. Do you know I had a disease only 1% of the world gets when I was 5 and I nearly died."

He then told me some of his stories
I didn't quite listen
Because pain is unbearable
He told me a story about bananas and orthopedic surgery...
Then something about him wanting to be a singer, but him also miming in the choir like I used to
I told him I could sing
Then they wanted me to sing in the middle of that procedure
No no I am not a girl of mediocrity
If I sing, it has to be perfect
No pain making me off key
Then he said something about Neil Diamond


And then it was over
And I didn't quite complete all my stories
And he told me
"You're a smart girl
And interesting
Write a book someday
And don't give up your studies."

Six months of my life on hold
Let's see how this goes
Let's see how many stories I have to tell at the end of this
I promise you now though
My story isn't over
And one day I will write something
Something Inspiring
And something good
A classic
Well, I'm hoping


Haha, a physicist writing a book?
Let's see how this one pans out for me
Elizabeth Burns Mar 2016
My thoughts under a beating sun
Are Drenched with sweat
But filled with raw emotion
My thoughts under a beating sun
Are often insane
And bewildering
My thoughts under a beating sun
Are wild and intertwined with philosophy
My thoughts under a beating sun
Are simple

I clutch onto his wreathed and wrinkled hand
My feet are bare
Relaxed in the beach sand
As the salty seawater licks me tenderly
Back and forth
It mocks me, yet soothes my startled soul

My thoughts are tangled at this time they are filled with courageous supernatural sorcery
That mingles among my sane thoughts

I stand in the sea
My hand clutching my father's
And sigh at the beauty of such a marvelous.sight
And ponder on what may become
Of my soon beginning life...

I am filled with wrought
And doubt at what I once thought I knew
I don't know
I don't know
I don't really know anymore.
I think I just want to be happy someday
Content, as some might say
Maybe I want to find love
And be loved
Maybe I want time
Time to think
Time to be
And time to write poetry
And enunciate passionate phrases
Perhaps I want to make an impact
Teach...
Build...
A mind.
Make an impact
Do something...

I'm not sure what I want
I'm not sure any of us do.

But all I can say for now
Is that
As I stand in the shallow waters
Of this glorious sea that stands before me
At the edge of the world
The edge of my life...

I often find myself conflicted
By
My thoughts under a beating sun
Elizabeth Burns Aug 2018
Take me to Neverland
so I can fly
far, far away
from here...

From broken hearts
and dreams
that don't come true

Take me to infinite youth
and laughter
that never ceases

Take me
away
from here
Elizabeth Burns Jun 2016
You are not my muse, no
But
You
Are so much more...
Elizabeth Burns Jul 2018
Note to self:
Boys don't like it when you tell them
They're the reason for your happiness
This can be turned against you
And you'll be told there's something wrong with your head
As they cannot handle the responsibility of being the reason for your joy
So do not call them your "happy place"
Because he should never be the reason you are happy
Because he knows he's going to leave in 3 months
Don't count on him
He will break you
Elizabeth Burns Jan 2018
I've saved you as
"nothing"
On my phone
In my contacts
Because I'm not ready to delete your number
But
Nothing  
That's all I want you to be
I don't want to think about you anymore
I don't want you to torment me
I want
You
To
Be
Absolutely
Nothing
To me
Elizabeth Burns Dec 2017
I'm starting to feel
Nothing at all
When I see your
Latest photos
I think I'm moving on...
Elizabeth Burns Jan 2016
He's left me crawling on the ground
He's betrayed me now
Left me ****
Standing with my emotions bare
Mascara running down my eyes
How beautiful are these cries
Gasping
Pleading
Begging
For the boy to come back
For the innocent boy
I met
On that rainy day.
Elizabeth Burns Jun 2016
I didn't cry when he died
And I remember you screamed at me with tears in your eyes
Begging
Pleading
Twisting my aching heart with your juvenile words

"Why don't you cry? You think you're too strong to cry?"

And to be honest your words have stuck with me since
It was grade 6
And to tell you the truth, my darling

I was numb
I was 12 and I felt numb
I couldn't feel my own pulse and I was confused and conflicted
How a man could die so young
A boy who had so much to give to the world
He didn't even have any experiences
He was twelve
And I walked beside him everyday
And you never think
One day they'll be gone
As a child you are so innocent and sweet
You have not a thought of death and love and life ending
You're filled with sweetness that won't succumb
To a life that is numb

No, but I was numb that day
I remember you screaming
He shouted at me
At my dry eyes and childish face
How could I not cry?
You think you're strong?
You feel nothing?

And to be honest,
I felt numb

And numbness is probably worse than pain
Because you know the heartache and tears are soon to come
You're withdrawn in your thoughts and it's probably the worst thing in this world

I was numb

I was numb

And I felt it all

My tears were strained

I was twelve

Please just forgive me

My love, I was


**numb.
Elizabeth Burns Nov 2018
How crazy...
Tomorrow
I would've written my first exam
of second year...
Now, tomorrow
I go home after
a whole month in hospital
Crazy how life can change
in one moment...
From one man's voice...
From three words...
From one diagnosis.
Elizabeth Burns Dec 2016
On nights like these... I miss you
I miss your poetic zest
I miss your broken touch on my skin
I miss the powerful, intense desire I had
For you...
For your mind?
I miss the obsession I had
With your lips that burnt my skin
With your fingers that delicately caressed my tears away
I miss your tranquil breathing beside me
Oh God, I miss him
Elizabeth Burns Dec 2016
On nights like these...
When I am alone with my thoughts
I miss you
Elizabeth Burns Jul 2016
I just want to cry
But I am numb
I saw a child die before my eyes
I see her wither in her last breaths
Ouma
This is not the way you should die
With that machine attached to your throat
Arms tied down
Being suctioned
And being forced to take your last breath
No Ouma
You are a proud woman
A woman who always tries to look her best
A scent of Mint and roses
And sweet cakes
My Ouma
Clothes that smell like washing powder
But that unique kind that you always remember
Ouma
I love you
I never knew how much I did
Until now
I never imagined life without you
And I do not wish to
My Ouma
Please don't go
He loves you so much
He never left your side
You are his 'girl' he says
As you lie there in the hospital bed
He can not live without you Ouma
You have no idea how much you mean to us
My Ouma
Ek is so baie lief vir jou
My Ouma
Asseblief
Moenie gaan nie
My Ouma
Van Mint And Rose scent.
Ouma is the Afrikaans word for Grandmother...

I love you so much, Ouma.
Ek is so baie lief vir jou, Ouma.
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