Aftermath
I never asked you to carry my hatred, Or inherit the ghosts of my past. I never asked you to fight my battles, Or make another’s punishment last. I only asked that when I showed you The places where my heart had bled, You wouldn’t reach into the darkness And resurrect what I had left for dead. I gave you stories wrapped in silence, Wounds that never learned to close. I trusted you with all the reasons Behind the distance that I chose. And somehow, in the quiet aftermath, I found myself explaining pain again, As though the scars upon my spirit Required permission to remain. You spoke of love, and I believed you, But love was not what I could feel. Not while I stood before you wounded, Defending why my wounds were real. I do not need you to despise them. I do not need you to agree. But I cannot call a place my shelter If my past still follows me. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll be softer. Perhaps the ache will lose its sting. But tonight, my heart has grown quiet, Too tired to explain anothe...
