Skeletons no more

Like a ghost long given life

fighting each shallow breath in err

hollowed, harried, and haunted

love will never satisfy the emptiness in her

in her lonely deperation,

she clings tight to that bitter tear

make up streaming the length of her face

leaving black trails of staining smear

like a drunkard in a midnight choir

life has always played her a bit off key

one stanza shy of a full verse

I am not sure if I should cry for her or me.

She hung her coat in the closet

next to the skeletons I left behind

like a second skin long ago shed

I took hers and replaced it with mine.

Surely tailored to a custom fit

after all I have put her through

There is no I in the word team,

but plainly.. I can find a simple you

I find no happiness here, she whispers

pulling the suitcase from under the bed

silk lined and packed with her very best

there's no room left for hurt in her head.

I find no happiness here, she repeats

echoing a sentiment long held true

whether or not it's meant to hurt

it's a sentiment long over due

Today is the day she's leaving for good

one could never change her aching mind

no sense fighting a battle I lost long ago

even if I could I wouldn't know where to drawn that line

As fast as she came in, she was gone

leaving just the dust collecting under the bed.

Much like the memories we shared, fragmented...

a collection of fibers, lint, and pieces of thread.

I wished her a fleeting adieu

to the sharp slamming of the apartment door

she took it all, her coat, her suitcase, my skeletons,

leaving my closet empty once more.

Reviews

[joshua deathdealer]

This is beautiful and vivid. Very touching work.

[Teri B]

"like a drunkard in a midnight choir
life has always played her a bit off key
one stanza shy of a full verse"

Painful to see!

"She hung her coat in the closet
next to the skeletons I left behind
like a second skin long ago shed
I took hers and replaced it with mine."

Maybe that's why she took the skeleton...one cannot survive without the other...even if it's old skin and bones... How sad!

[Inyourshadow]

Awww what no skeletons left and with Halloween so close lol. Sorry it was a wonderfully penned piece the closet stanza with a second skin easily my favourite as I love word play and metaphor and you wove both perfectly throughout. Keep em' coming

[J.V. Stanley]

Amazingly sad, amazingly true. Your poetry paints such a strong vivid image in my head that leave me wanting more. I think we've all had a few bad break-ups but you pictured this one in a way that is both remorseful yet the narrator saw it coming, knew the end was near and was accepting of it in a sense. I love the honest topics you write about and you truly have a lovely gift with words.

[lisameryl]

This hit me hard, deeply heartfelt verse throughout this hauntingly beautiful and sad write! This reads like a story in the works yet to be discovered! Have you considered turning this into one!?

Touching verse here!:
She hung her coat in the closet
next to the skeletons I left behind
like a second skin long ago shed
I took hers and replaced it with mine.

Surely tailored to a custom fit
after all I have put her through
There is no I in the word team,
but plainly.. I can find a simple you

[Linear]

Such a sad tale, such emotions displayed, but oh such fantastic lines you have used..........brilliant poem my friend :O)

[iamkim]

...felt my heart broken :(( I received sms from a friend last week. It says that LOVE has something to do with the chemicals in our brains which have brought us that "feeling." But it only lasts for 12 - 18 months and the lovers will be on their own. In short, the love was gone. For it to last a lifetime, we have to nourish it as we feed ourselves with food and water.

We never can blame a person to leave. As somebody who loves them truly, we must set them free and let them be happy. Because true love wears no greed in life.

This is a very good poem! I love it!

[Coyote Poetry]

A bittersweet poem. People come and go in a life. Leaving their marks upon us. I like the movement and feel of this poem. A very good ending. Ain't easy to release someone with calm and peace. But sometime holding on to someone who need to escape causes more harm then good. A excellent poem with a very strong story.
Coyote

[HopelesslyDevoted]

breathtaking work of art

[KATHY SUE SILLS]

First of all let me say welcome back! You have expressed sad story in your poem. Once one gets enough they eventually leave, and the one left behind is left with nothing but misery and pain! Great Write!