I've been trying to put it to words,
to collect those thoughts wholly,
and to combine them singularly
into an explanation---
Not an excuse.
Not an apology.
Not a proposal.
I just want you to understand
how I got to where I am,
and why I feel the way I do,
so maybe you'll move past it faster
than others seem to do.
I think you have so much potential,
that you'll be easier than the rest
in whom I'll find a place of quarry,
and, us, the strength to bare
each other's chests.
With you I'll never hang my noose,
nor try to break the skin;
I'll push at my own darkness
just to give you a fighting chance.
When all is said and over,
when we've given ourselves rest
and the lamented moments have fled away:
you'll have emptied all my graves.
JH
06.16.16/09.21-22.16/11.30.16
This is my favorite poem from this year so far. I'm not sure that I consider it my best: it just feels like it summarizes all I am at this moment, still.