Like Mother Like Daughter

Break even.
A drift in the river;

Like ice on my back,

An upcoming shiver.

 

I bite my lip,

Imposingly bitter.

Another strike on my back.

This lake in the winter.

 

It’s a mystery to why

I’d ever jumped at all.

But I knew instantly

Reality was worse than the fall.

 

Is it a fall if I jumped?

Did she jump, or did she fall?

 

Ice swallows me whole

As I go back under.

I’ve taken my soul

To a rapture that thunders.

 

Why should I break

Due to this stress?

What will relieve

This pain in my chest?

 

The beat to my heart

Has leaved me alone.

I call out her name

Which replies with no tone.

 

“Mom!” I cry,

But I swallow more ice.

“Mom!” I scream,

No one hearing my cries.

 

As my life unfolds,

I recognize this dream,

This dream to see the things that won’t be.

 

She’ll never be back.

She’ll never be known.

I’d rip out my heart

Just to have it re-sewn.

 

As the ice breaks,

My heart will race.

 

I spit and sputter

With no cries to mutter.

My mind hangs hollow

A break I’ll never follow.

Reviews

[Matt Anderson]

Your writing is beautiful, thanks for sharing.

[Suditi]

Gives me goosebumps.
You describe things really well.
A very well written piece.
Keep it up.

[Jack Isaac]

It sends shivers down my spine. I've always had an unusual fear of drowning even though I'm a good swimmer. An icy demise seems even worse, cold in more ways than one. The sentiment in this poem seems to be that one met such a fate and the other has concerns of slipping down that same path. NIce, the first stanza sums up this story, aptly explained in the rest of the poem. Well done.

[Distant horizons]

Tragic tale, beautifully told. Sounds to me like the extreme someone goes to to answer question there will never be an answer for.

[jimmy]

This is very powerful when it comes to emotional pain, and for that, I very much liked reading this. You seem to be a great poet, and this is a very well written piece.