Harsh Love

written for a contest

Sorry, so sorry,  I'll never live your dreams.
Sorry, so sorry,  I rarely make you proud.
Sorry, so sorry,  I ignore your angry rants.
Sorry, truly sorry, but my own dreams scream too loud.

Tired, so tired of reprising how you scathed.
Tired, so tired of adopting your excuse.
Tired, so tired of learning crooked truths.
Tired, so damn tired of finding kindness in abuse.

Love you though, still love you. Our fights became a dance.
Love you, always loved you. But now I do by choice.
Love you as you love me, despite your scarring words.
Love, your harsh love, taught me my own, strong voice.

Author's Note

Phew, a poem about ambivalent love I guess ;-)

Don't be shy, tell me what you think!

Reviews

[Anindita Janhabee]

Quite emotional... Regretting is a part of the life though... Love is always painful no matter how you enjoy it... Like life is always beautiful, no matter how you live it... If this is your imagination, then it is great... Without being shy, I really appreciate the repetition of words... Such poems need rhymes or repetition to be perfect... I have recently written poems like this so I loved your thoughts...
But of course you can make it better by adding some more situations apart from - sorry, tired and love... for example, thanks, promise etc... well it's only a suggestion...
to be honest, your single poem fills innumerable emotions... keep it up!!!
Anindita : )

[Kaliope]

Thank you very much for stopping by and for your thoughtful suggestions. The poem was written for a contest though, and one of the requirements was twelve lines or less. Besides, to me it feels complete and since I'm not a poet by any stretch, my gut feeling is all I have to go by. Nevertheless, rest assured that I appreciate your comment and that I'm glad you enjoyed my excursion into poetry, despite its shortcomings :-)

[Anindita Janhabee]

It was my pleasure reading...

[Edis Radoncic]

i love the ending of the poem . i liked how in the end it summed up what it is about, in my opinion that harsh love supposed to make someone learn and grow strong out of it. great piece.

[Kaliope]

Thank you very much! I wrote it for a contest that prompted to write about "What doesn't kill us makes us stronger". Glad I managed to deliver that feeling!

[Brandrosky]

This is beautiful. It starts in one place and ends on the opposite end of the spectrum as I've noticed a lot of your writings do. It begins so sad as if the person they love is abandoning them for the fact that they are not good enough. Only at the very end did I realize that this person was leaving of their own accord and had to make the crippling decision to leave the one they love in search of something that's better for them. Even after all the hardship and negativity they still had the confidence and optimism to realize that even the worst things in life can be a lesson and thank the other for making them stronger. This has a very powerful message and is very skillfully written.

[Kaliope]

Hm, I wasn't aware of that pattern in my writing, so thank you very much for pointing that out. I I'm glad you like my poem, it's great to see that my work - even though poetry is not my strong point - seems to resonate with others, so thanks again for taking the time to read and review - much appreciated!

[FaeryQueen]

the repetition is gorgeous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kaliope]

Thank you so much!

[hanir]

Love actually! Nice piece!

[Kaliope]

Thank you very much, glad you liked it!

[Daisy]

wow.... god just save us from that kind of love.... Don't mind me but it's just my thought.... I don't believe in love..... but this poem do depict author's feelings...... description of those thoughts is amazing
Great job

[Kaliope]

Thank you so much!

[JulianaSun]

Wow! And you said you were no poet! Liar :))
Where would we be without the harsh loves in our lives? After all, they help us grow and learn more about ourselves. They toughen us up and helps us discover our limits.
The repetition gives the poem a more passionate and a more desperate vibe, as though you were feverish when writing it.
You are growing up, dear Kaliope. ( as a writer I mean :)) But you were already pretty grown up when you started. About ten feet tall aka 3 metres approx.

[Kaliope]

Haha, I really wouldn't dare to call myself poet, I'm just slowly coming to terms with calling myself writer without feeling incredibly presumptuous ;-)

But thank you for you lovely words J, they do mean a lot to me!

[Abyssmouse]

The content feels familiar. I can sense the frustration you had when writing it, and I really like how lyrical it feels.

In fact, this is probably very relatable, since affection or love can make us obsess and depend - and that leaves no room for understanding that we can only ever help ourselves, so it takes being broken by someone to force that understanding.

Nice work.

[Kaliope]

I'd like to think that most of the frustration is mere memory and not so much my current state of mind, but of course the feeling never leaves entirely.

Thank you very much for your review and I'm glad you enjoyed my work!

[Elodie Thompson]

It's a very well composed poem. The usage of words were brilliant because through them you were able to convey the sadness and all the emotions that the person dealt with. I especially liked the last stanza because I thought it meant that all the torture that he/she faced led to them being stronger as an individual.
It's a very well written poem. Good job.

[Kaliope]

Thanks for your lovely review :-)

[Elodie Thompson]

It was my pleasure.