Dead To Me

I would have died for you. Now, you are dead to me.

Slice the heavens and slit my wrists!

The flowing river gently twists.

A specter rises from the mists

in the ghostly image of you.

 

A light rain falls like windblown tears.

Whispers echo within my ears.

I loved you for so many years,

but the years have become too few.

 

I would have died to keep you near.

Our future seemed so very clear.

How I loved you, loved you dear,

more than a heart is wont to do.

 

But green fields turned to trails of mud.

The bank was breached within the flood.

Your heart seemed drained of all its blood;

and in silence, the silence grew.

 

Why did you throw it all away

and make it so I could not stay?

I will never forget that day

nor the pain that you put me through.

 

I saw in you my better half.

O!  How you used to make me laugh

with every foolish joke and gaffe,

the smallest things you used to do.

 

You did not see what I could see

when seeing you look back at me,

the good in you, the best to be;

but your promises were not true.

 

The waves of love I dearly miss,

the way that my heart swelled with bliss,

the joy that I felt with each kiss

before love’s wings no longer flew.

 

Now there is nothing left to save.

You took everything that I gave

and tossed it in a shallow grave.

I let the memories ensue.

 

You ruined everything for good.

In tears, I left the neighborhood.

I walked alone and understood.

That was the end - the end of you.

 

You settled for what used to be

though I replaced the lock and key.

You are forever dead to me.

Thick dark clouds and shadows imbue.

 

For the sake of your foolish pride,

your heart was closed; your tongue was tied.

I was ignored and cast aside.

You damaged the trust that I knew.

 

You could not, would not be the man;

and like a coward, you just ran.

I am back to where I began,

but nothing is clouding my view.

 

It has nothing to do with me.

Your lack of love has set me free;

and on this point, we must agree:

I am stronger for loving you.

 

I wish you all the very best.

I hope your days and nights are blessed;

and when you take that final rest,

you can bury my love with you.

Author's Note

Reviews

[Vol]

Linda,
The trick is to always believe in love. Headlong, eyes wide open, grasping for all the milk and honey it has to give... knowing all along how vicious it can be. And when it's lost, to stand, dust off, and look around for more. Take it from a widower, and a cuckold, who then found the love of his life, only to be widowed again. Hope always springs eternal.
Vol

[Soren]

A powerful and moving poem set in most beautiful verse. Whether the reader has gone through this or not, it is so relatable. Every stanza was remarkable and will not attempt to cite all the verses that moved me but two stood out beyond the rest: "Slice the heavens and slit my wrists!The flowing river gently twists." what a way to start and get a person's attention.
"But green fields turned to trails of mud.
The bank was breached within the flood.
Your heart seemed drained of all its blood;
and in silence, the silence grew."
It is with silence and lack of communication that relationships deteriorate. So well said. A wonderful poem about a sad subject.

[Lorry]

So many will understand this Linda. Giving the benefit of the doubt to the first signs ignored and later regretting not seeing through them sooner.
Some see it as a game they need to win and end up losing out for treating people the way they will never see, unless they spend their lives talking to mirrors and see how easily detectable their "tells" have become, when trust has flown away.
And yet, it is the victim left feeling guilty!!! I think this love malarkey is a rigged game 😊

[emmajoygreen]

Words to cherish here, Linda, words to cling onto as an true remedy to and of pain. I feel this and would, in other circumstances say 'Brava!' but this is neither time nor place. Hugs and a hand held.

[The_Ancient_Rock]

Wow that's very deep.

And emotional...

I enjoyed your writing a lot...

Be in peace.

Blessed be!!!

[Ken Simm.]

“Why then, O brawling love! O loving hate!
O any thing, of nothing first create!
O heavy lightness, serious vanity,
Misshapen chaos of well-seeming forms,
Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health,
Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is!
This love feel I, that feel no love in this.”
― William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

[Nima.Hope]

I really like the rhymes in this poem,so masterfully arranged. Rhyming very matters in Persian Poetry and I also know your favorite Persian Poet is Rumi. Nicely done Madam.
I wanted to visit your page for a long time but I forgot so many times. Your name reminds of me Royal families in Austria and Germany. Your interests in Music and Poetry is very close to my taste. Modern talking, Madonna and The Eagles at the same time is a very rare thing. I like to know you more ma'am.
I'm Nima, Iranian(Persian) and I am very interested in reading and gaining knowledge. I've been hear for a year and almost a half.

[willweb]

Some relationships do not work out and some end badly and then some end very badly. It is shame when there things happen because as your amazing poem states, or perhaps suggests, there were some good times, there was some fun and there was love. It is always sad to me when these things break and there is no fixing them. And what is saddest still is the heart that ends up broken at the end. My friend, I can feel this and I can feel you...here's hoping that the future days bring many reasons to smile.
Another amazing poem form your pen.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, willweb. Life is full of endings and beginnings; but through it all, life goes on.

[Neville]

I wonder if you felt better having got all this off your chest and into the open .. I know I feel better for having found and devoured it .. indeed, from a literary, perspective, significantly enjoyed .. Neville

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Neville. I always feel better when I write and express myself. I think it's the lifeblood of my soul.

[Neville]

then I have absolutely no doubt, you are write.

[John the Baptist]

As usual, rhyming and meter are impeccable, but the tone indicates the deep pain has not totally passed. I guess when a relationship seems really good, its breakup is all the more painful. The first two lines of the last verse indicate forgiveness has been achieved, but the intensity of the preceding verses makes me doubt it. For your own sake, I hope you can some day release this episode of your life.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, John. Having known and loved this person for the better part of my life, I'm sure my feelings will never fully diminish. The love is dead, but the stain remains.