Real.

In the corner of a drawer,
Shoved behind the mismatched socks
And the t-shirts I never wear,
Is an old photograph,
A corner torn and folded over,
A coffee stain marring the image,
Pale and faded with age.
Two faces, smiling and cheerful,
A contrast to the pain that lives there now,
Turned towards each other,
Lifted,
Exposed,
And out there for the world to see.

When the negative thoughts couldn't touch us,
And forever was more than just
A distant, faraway dream.
The sun casts shadows in the background,
And if you look closely,
You can see a phantom,
A ghost,
Of the girl I used to be.

Once upon a time a kiss
Was all it took to flip
The switch,
And ignite a fire so hot,
I swear we should have burnt
That entire beach town to the ground.

Ashes to sand, hand in hand.

But you know what they say
About flames that burn wild.

In a flash they die out,
Leaving smoldering coals,
And nothing to save.

So I delegate those memories
To the back of a drawer,
Out of sight, but never forgotten,
Even if I can't look at it anymore.
There's a reel in my head,
That flows and runs without end,
Of every memory clip together,
Your voice a broken record,
My heart the needle
That allows it to
s
k
I
p

and stick around.

I keep hoping the pain will taper off,
And fade away.
But the button on my mind seems to be stuck,
And it just
WON'T GO AWAY.

There's a photograph, worn and torn
Shoved in the back of a drawer.
It's battered and beaten,
And it seems to look just like I feel.

But I can't let it go.

Because I need to remember that once upon a time...

I was real.

Reviews

[RomaJ]

Absolutely moving. Your words ignites memories within. Turning my thoughts to a little photograph. I've long buried in the back of my own drawer. Yet, it is always with me. I sometimes think, it carries me. At times, it brings me comfort and other times, I can't bear the grief. If only, we could just step back into that moment, forever frozen in time. Oh, the possibilities...

Beautifully written.

[Nonalisa]

Your poem is moving. I also like to way you place words to form certain shapes. Great work!