I sit in my room
The midnight candle burning
The only sound,
Is the ceiling fan turning.
Lonely places
No familiar faces
Just things that stare
Walls, chairs, a table, empty space
Laughter,
Talking voices,
In my head
It’s the music of beautiful noises.
Sometimes we all sit
With things,
And feelings,
All bottled up in silence.
I will forget
The pain that wrenched my heart
Your love was like air to survive
How you took your love away
And left my heart cold
My soul lost.
I will forget
The many tears, the many years
I held on to your love.
The memories we made
The way we loved
And unloved
Oh how the memories fade
And thoughts wane
For soon, I will forget
You.
If I don’t say it much
I may not be the kind of person
But in a million subtle ways
I love you.
The love notes left under your pillow
The way I’d hold your hand
How I’d caress you
You know I love you.
Your kisses make me dream
When I’m with you, it’s the best feeling
My heart is yours, my sweet one
I love you.
My love goes farther than the stars
And even farther than the moon
You are the most wonderful thing
My darling, I love you.
Someday when I see you again
I’ll have just one question
I wish to show you
The many written letters
I wrote you many letters
I wish you had read them
I read them to myself
And one day I just burnt them
I hope to tell you
Of how much it used to hurt
Many times my heart missed a beat
When I heard your name
It’s been some seven years
But I have just one question
Do you think of me sometimes?
I wish you had read my letters
When I do see you again
I’ll ask just one question
I hope you’d want to talk
I hope you’ll see my scarred heart.
I’m in the habit of withdrawing from things
From people coming and going
Drawing them in
And drawing them out.
Because it can get crowded in my heart
Too many things getting in
Suffocating me.
I find it hard to breathe
When my heart is pained
I must withdraw
I must draw it all out.
For at a point the heart gets tired
From being bruised over and over
And it must hide
It must withdraw to heal.
Esther Gyimah