Twenty Three

Remember that time you were so heated?
You were like a kettle on a stove who the flame had defeated.
Charred you from the outside in, while I was seated
comfortably on the sofa without noticing the anger I'd seeded.
I wish I'd known what you needed.
I left you to burn.
I guess it was a cruel lesson we each had to learn,
It was my biggest mistake. I wish I had noticed,
If only for your sake, but I was so focused.
I was too caught up trying to make my life uncoil
to even realize you needed a hand to lift you from the boil.
I wish I knew how much it mattered
because the fire's burned out, but it turned out
the ashes have blown and scattered.. For miles.
I guess I wasn't worth your while.
Now I can't keep my shit together.
That bag of emotions I carry on my back?
The zipper zipped off and then the handles ripped off.

But hear me
here,
clearly.
I tried.
I dried all the tears that I cried on my own and I've grown.
I'm no longer afraid of falling asleep in the dark.
Now I find myself in constant fear of waking up alone.