Ashen

A response to the song "Snuff" by Slipnot

Bury me in shadows, leave me blind.
You turned away,
not to save me,
but to save yourself.
And here I stand,
holding pieces of a heart you swore belonged to me.

You said love was a shield,
but it was just the rage you couldn’t confess,
a fire you let burn me with-
silently, slowly,
like smoke in a room with no escape.

If you hate me, then hate me.
Let it pour from your mouth,
let it burn the air between us,
but don’t leave me chasing ghosts.
Don’t speak of fate when you chose silence
over truth.
I gave you light to guide your fall,
but you were already gone.
And I… I stood,
waving at a horizon you never planned to reach.

I carried your despair like it was my name.
I fought for you,
until my knees hit the ground,
until my fists broke against your indifference.
But you…
you just watched.
A witness to your own disaster,
a spectator while we drowned.

Take your words-
those hollow, splintered words-
and carve them into stone.
There’s no pity here.
No hand to hold your shame.

You were never my salvation,
and I was never your martyr.

So I will not wear your guilt.
I will not carry the weight you left
like anchors on my chest.

You say you’re the broken one.
But we were both there,
at the edge of the fall.
I stood still, ready to fight.
You stepped back.

And maybe devils weep in silence,
but I won’t pretend your tears
were ever for me.

So take the memories-
burn them if you must.
Take the love you let decay.
And if it still bleeds,
keep it hidden in the dark,
where it belongs.

I am walking away now.
And you?
You can keep the ashes.