bittersweet recollections of your adolescence // 2019 poetry collection

fireplace

i tried to make myself a safe place for you.

i broke all my bones and put them together again

in the shape of a home.

i let my soul burn out in the fireplace

so you wouldn't feel alone.

every honest word i'd try to speak

would go straight up and out

of the chimney.

because (as we all know)

honesty is a far cry

from safety.

i laid my heart out

so you would have a warm place to sleep.

i sang until my throat ached

so your dreams would be as lovely as the melodies.

i tried to make myself a safe place for you.

i tried.

the foundation of this home is all my love for you

and it has never cracked and it has never faltered

it has never and will never change with the weather

but just because you love something

doesn't mean it won't leave

and just because i was safe

doesn't mean you stayed.

so now my bones are splintered

and my soul is burned out

and my heart is cold

and my voice is gone

and i've learned my lesson the hard way.

i tried to make myself a safe place

for you.

but i forgot, as people often do,

that i needed a place to be safe too.