The Ones Not Written
THE ONES NOT WRITTEN
(Poem For K.)
The ones not written are the ones
Stuck in my heart like a crown
Of thorns. If you look closely
You can see the blood seeping
Slowly from my chest.
The ones not written are the ones
I saved especially for you although
You left before I had a chance
To read them to you. Maybe
today is the day I’ll come up
Recite each one aloud then destroy them
the way you and I almost destroyed ourselves
in the flames of alcohol and drugs.
I’ll bury the ashes next to your
Headstone and only you and I
Will know about the ones not written,
The ones you never read
Because I kept them from you, buried
Way deep in my heart. This
Is what I believed:
We had enough time to solve
the problems, plan our escape
And rearrange ourselves into newer, fresher
Versions of who we wanted to become. I believe
You felt the same way even though you never
Really expressed yourself as loudly or as intensely
As I did. I had, I suppose, a too large mouth
Which is never a good thing in a small town.
So here I am, alone, reciting to you the ones
Not written, the ones stuck in my chest like a
Crown of thorns. These are the important ones,
The ones I burned to ash and buried next to your
Headstone so that the next time you decide
To rise up from the dead you will read them
And know you are holding in your hands
My blood
My heart.
Copyrighted
September 10, 2012
Jim Brewer
Copyright © Jim Brewer | Year Posted 2012
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