You Held On

A Poem by Jamie

You held on where most others let her fall away, piece by piece, and left her behind.

Tonight,
the shards fell from your arms.
She crumbled,
fell away,
hit the ground,
sliced your flesh on the way down,
and fragmented into even smaller pieces.

“Keep going.”
She whispered,
struggling to piece herself together,
fumbling clumsily in the dark.

You shook your head,
a smile on your face,
blood trickling down your arms,
as you knelt down beside her.
“No. I’m here. I told you I would be.”

She could see again;
the darkness faded away.
You helped to pull the fragments together again,
…to the extent that you could anyway.
You took her in your arms once again;
she continued to cry.
You simply comforted her.

…But there were tears in your eyes,
running down your cheeks, too.
She had hurt you,
again.
She could see that.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Despite your tears,
your obvious pain,
the blood drying on your skin,
you smiled once again.
“Don’t apologize. Remember what I told you?”

She paused,
confused.
Her mind was clouded by emotions she couldn’t process,
exhaustion that couldn’t lull her to sleep,
medication that couldn’t calm the raging storm in her mind.

“I will be your shining light in the darkness.”