Saving You

There is a way to save you,

caught in the thick briar mind.

Painful as I reach out for it,

hands a mess of bloody punctures.

I never knew

we ever let it get this far.

 

I have to admit,

I wondered how

we were going to get you out,

but time and my obsessions

drifted me away from you,

So now,

the only way I can see,

is overgrown with thick vines,

with sharp thorns.

 

I am told that these things don’t happen

in a vacuum.

You neglected yourself pretty well.

The guilt that drives me,

to bloody my hands

on the barrier between us

might be some strange,

misshapen memory of love,

but it is mine to deal with

however I choose.

 

Are you still there?

I stand,

hands dripping blood

from a thousand tiny cuts and punctures.

Lacerated face

and clothes tattered,

listening for something more

than the sound of my own heart beating …

… lungs breathing …

… and I hear nothing.

 

Have you given up?

Are you gone?

Have you discovered some new way out?

Have you escaped

and abandoned me

to labor at this painful task

alone?

 

There are no good questions that come.

 

Briefly,

I consider getting the fuel can.

Douse the thorny briar between us

and watch it burn.

Maybe we would survive.

Maybe not.

I would give a lot for closure,

but I would likely only be left

with ashes.

 

So finally,

I sit

in quiet contemplation,

letting my worn mind and body rest.

Then,

after a short while,

I get up and walk over to the garden shed.

I return

with my watering can

and some fertilizer.

 

I have decided,

that thorny briars

often have beautiful flowers

and that if you are still there,

trapped on the other side

and need saving

you’ll let me know.

 

HG – 2017

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