You can't make a storm cloud
And expect it not to rain

Someone hands me a problem
All wrapped in distress
Packaged in pain
"Can you carry this"

I see the hurt in their eyes
From carrying everything so long
I take the parcel with a smile
"Don't worry at all"

"Can you carry this?"
Another asks
Holding out a bag of sorrow
Laced with depression

"Of course"
I say
Without another thought

They relax
As the pack goes from their back
To mine

I sink lower to the ground

"Can you carry this"
Holding out a burden of self resentment
Tied with a ribbon of anxiety

"Definitely"
A little more won't **** me

The burden is set down on my shoulders
I get a little heavier
My bones aching with the weight
My feet digging cracks in the pavement

I paste a smile on my face

Then you come around
"Can you carry this?"

I took one look in your eyes
"Yes"

Your sack was the heaviest of them all
Grief
Shame
Heartache
Anguish
Torture

My very essence trembled
Under the weight
Of your burden

I was close to the breaking point

But you needed me,
So I carried on

Pretending that I could bear it all

I have an old soul,
But my heart is still young
Treat it with care
It has not loved for very long

I am underwater
No breath to be found
Encased in liquid
I am death bound

So deeply encased in water
I think I'll just swim down
Feel the pressure build
As I slowly drown

You cover every page of my journal
That you'll never read
Your smile is in every photo on my camera
That you'll never look through

I keep you close
You will never know
I treasure every piece that I have of you
Photos and journal entries
All of it

The photos are tacked up on walls
That you will never see
The journal entries have become a blog
That you will never visit
And all the while
I'll be loving you

You burned every part of me
That you hadn't claimed for your own