The Breakup

     I

A year, tears the heart

of any connection

beyond what was

another moment in time,

conception of happiness

irrelevant to the perception of

what now exists is

pure speculation

void of heat and light.

Navel gazing, you'd say.

     II

The emptiness of a room

testifies what

one has chosen to keep.

A bed, a lamp

a shelf,

books on self help.

     III

Six-pack of Cloudwater

untouched.

Why I don't want to know.

     IV

I quit smoking, then didn't

then did, then

gave up

digging through the trash.

     V

Where you are now I can't say

I ever wonder.

Ken e Bujold

© 2022

Reviews

[Bai]

I felt this one. Thank you for sharing this.

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the visit and kind review Bai. stop by any time

[Dave Brown]

that other thing the heart has to deal with
the deeper it was, the more difficult it is

[John the Baptist]

When a truly deep relationship breaks up, there is never a precisely defined end point, as this poem demonstrates. Though the togetherness is definitely no more, the other is still clearly on the speaker's mind. Despite the first and last stanzas claims, I believe a feeling of emptiness yet remains.

[Ken e Bujold]

the past when it comes to relationships is never forgotten

[JD Major]

I think in Breakups, as in Deaths, people experience different kinds of grief:
The loss of the Person,
The loss of the Relationship,
The Loss of Self, or part of Self,
And/Or all of the above.
PS: plus in Breakups, let us not forget the ever-popular Grief of Wounded Ego :)

[Ken e Bujold]

you got most of them JD. probably more, but i just too tired of remembering to think of them at the moment

[softlyfall]

Omphaloskepsis indeed
It always amazes me how you create a gestalt of structure and words that invokes images in both my imagination and my heart. Especially in the 2nd stanza, the form of it feels like the words aged and worn, rocking in a rocking chair, reminiscing themselves.
And the final words, so contradictory because the whole poem is a wonderment about "you"... that seems sad to me, or at least bittersweet

[Ken e Bujold]

if one lives long enough, and is alive, the sentiments of this poem cannot be avoided. I am quite fond of the second verse, which came late in the process. The break between 2nd and 3rd lines is for me the heart of this poem. I think retrospection of life brings many moments of clarity, but only after one has figured out where to place the pauses.

happy that you enjoy my writes, stop by any time Soft

[softlyfall]

Looking forward to it

[Ewen A Morrison]

Wow, to both the style and strength of this poetry; while its content itself is incredably strange to certain readers, none of us can really avoid the feelings that are invoked!

[Ken e Bujold]

thanks for the visit and kind review Ewen. And yes, if one is alive the feelings invoked cannot be avoided, as you say

[Chris Shaw]

It's a long time since I've been there, but I can remember smoking Consulate menthol f**s, to try and calm me. The only time I've ever smoked, plus drinking copious amounts of vino. I still drink the vino, but in a glass now and less of it :)) He's still around but in the far background and a reminder of my bad decision making in earlier years. Look where you took me on a Sunday sunny morning. Breakups suck.

Chris

[Ken e Bujold]

not too bad when looked at from a window of decades past