If Only

He's broken, almost beyond repair. His heart keeps beating because he forces it to. He feet keep walking because he makes them. He smiles, but only because it keeps him from crying. He's a strong guy, but he can't be that way forever.

He's in so much pain and there is nothing that anyone can do to safe him. One can help, but she is too close to him, too much of a reality to be taken seriously. Who listens to their sister anyway? He would if only she could get up the courage to tell him the truth.

He has been burning himself just so he can feel something. Anything.HE burns his palm with his lighter. He gets into useless fights. He punches concrete walls. His sister sees these things and knows that its self injury, but she doesn't know how to tell him. She knows all the signs and sees that this is a coping mechanism for him.

He hurts himself when he's angry or numb. She hurts herself when she's furious. She has no room to talk about self injury, but she worries. He's all she has, and his pain hurts her more then he could ever know. It feels like a hand wrapped round her throat and squeezing till she cries tears of remorse and pain. What should she do? What is there to do? She's as lost as he is. Clueless and lost and in pain.

Maybe they can be in pain together. Maybe they can work together and be whole. Maybe they can the one to repair the other.

If only she were more brave. If only he'd ask for help. If only they could find peace. If only people would care more.

If only... If only...

Reviews

[Lyndsifer]

I like how this flows...seems to really describe the black and white status that we struggle with as humans. Some struggle more than others, as you have seen and described.

[Thomas St.cloud]

What a tapestry of honest regret you've crafted here! One can feel the conclusion coming, like the ground during a swift fall. Well done. Very well done.
And, While I love the poem, I can't agree entirely with it's sentiment. I think potential is the only thing which is infinite, for nothing else is as frequently rebirthed inside each new moment. It's only our tools to grasp it, which need to be honed.