Have You Ever

Have you ever danced to the rhythm of life
The rise and the fall of your body on the bed
Counting the precise seconds between each breath
The way feet seem to always find a way to move forward
The way you might chase your heart racing away
And smile to yourself through lonely celebrations

Have you ever been born again
As if your eyes had their memory of the sun erased
A new life greeted by the reborn sun coming off the sea
Realizing how profoundly beautiful it all can be
Wondering how it was possible to miss something 
That was always there…but also not

Have you ever forgotten love
Knowing where you have been…how far you have fallen
Wondering if anyone would talk to you at 3AM again
And fantasizing how they would much rather stare straight into your eyes
Look at you as if you were only thing left on Earth
Making your hands shake from holding onto them so tightly

Have you ever dreamt about strangers
Somehow still waking up more and more devastated 
How it felt losing them felt so real and so fake at the same time
Is there really someone out there waiting to meet a person like me
Desperate enough to crack themselves open like an egg
Allowing their love to bleed out onto the street like yolk

Have you ever lost someone
Forced to let go of something you couldn’t afford to lose
Scared of the way you might drag them down with you
When they were the best thing you ever chanced upon
Wishing that they would have listened through the silence
Of that you could have seen through the smiles

No…
You’re not that ugly 
You’re not that stupid
You’re not that invisible
You’re not that unwanted
You’re still unbroken

Have you ever been human
Yes…
You have been and forever will be 
Just as I will hide these lines forever in your nightmares
So that each time you face your demons
You might think that someone cared about you
Copyright © | Year Posted 2023

Poem

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