Hold Onto Me

Now that all my time has slipped away,

Do you have some you could lend?

Cause you said you learned from your mistakes,

But you make them all again.

And people you’ve avoided all your life,

Become your closest friends.

 

And we’re all wounded soldiers,

Who are waiting for time to heal.

Caught up in fighting for what we think is real.

But if you get tired and lonely,

You can hold onto me.

And we can pretend that we’re free.

 

And the moment I allowed to pass me by,

Is now my big regret.

Cause when you’re expecting way too much,

Nothing’s what you get.

And I wish you’d remember all those dreams,

I never thought you’d forget.

 

Now you’ve learned the hard way,

That you can’t buy their sympathy.

Cause we all get lost in who we want to be.

But if these days become too long,

You can hold onto me.

And we can pretend that we’re free.

 

Sometimes we only know that we’re alive,

When we feel the pain.

Did you find yourself while you were gone?

Do you like who you became?

And how does it make you feel to know,

That nothing stays the same?

 

Don’t you get tired of living,

For things that will never be?

And we all fall into that hole in history.

But if this world leaves you empty,

You can hold onto me.

And we can pretend that we’re free.

 

That person standing next to you,

Is all I hoped to be.

It’s hard to live alone but I’ll be fine,

Just pretending that I’m free.

Reviews

[PaintedBirdy]

hey Michael! powerful poem!

that first verse is brutal. time. wasted time. people who are now friends. its bordering on tragicomedy here! i love tragicomedy too, when it's fiction, but i don't think this is.

the second verse reveals it's wounded soldiers, or a metaphor of wounded people who try their best to march through life. having read a few of your other writings i'm inclined still to read it as literal, meaning that the narrator is a wounded soldier. when the narrator says "we can pretend we're free" it's almost idyllic or delusional, i'm not sure which. it's the feeling that we want to "think" we're free but we're really not, that's why the closest we can get to that is when we're holding on to other people. "brothers," in military terminology. close people.

i guess that's why you can't expect much from other people. hell, that's a lesson everyone learns.

in the second to last verse, the narrator is still talking about being disillusioned by the world. sounds like me after a beer or two, to be honest.

i must say i understand the loneliness on some level too. it's tough. that's all i can say about it: it's tough.

thanks for writing this. i like it. i'll keep reading, friend!

[Michael (Letters and Lifelines)]

My friend, I can't thank you enough for this amazing review. Thank you for taking the time out to first of all, search for this first piece I ever posted on here lol and then just really dive into it and find such great meaning in it. I'll be sure to be around to check out more of your work!

[Kesha]

I could relate to this poem so much. The hurting & the longing in here is just expressed so well. I love your writing & the way it makes me feel. Keep it up! :)

[Michael (Letters and Lifelines)]

Wow. Thank you so much, Kesha! I truly appreciate everything you say and do. I will definitely keep it up! :)

[Kesha]

You are welcome! :) & good you better ;)

[Sami Khalil]

"And we can pretend that we’re free.



Sometimes we only know that we’re alive,

When we feel the pain."

A profound write indeed...Thank you for sharing...:)

[Diana]

"You can hold onto me. And we can pretend that we're free."

" Don't you get tired of living, For things that will never be."

(The 2 sections that struck me most above.)

Striking in painful poignance...

I don't remember "friending you" on this site, but I'm truly glad I have. It's a joy to read your work.

[Michael (Letters and Lifelines)]

Thank you, Diana!

[Ann Mariya Roy]

I liked your poem.
its nice

[Michael (Letters and Lifelines)]

Thank you very much!

[Coyote Poetry]

"It’s hard to live alone but I’ll be fine,
Just pretending that I’m free."
Old song from the sixties. "When you truly free. You have nothing left to lose." I like the internal conversation in the poem leading the reader to the strong ending. Sometime the person nearest us is the one we need and can't see. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry. Make me think this afternoon.
Coyote

[Michael (Letters and Lifelines)]

Thank You!