Absence Poem by Danielle Beechum

staring into me seeing you
is what you best like to do,
but you are so unhappy with me
for showing you what you see.

reflections of past pains and
tribulations, struggles, and strife.
staring into the depth of you own soul
feeling shattered and less than whole

remembering lost loves
and promises of happiness and
fidelity…you hate what you see before
you, yet you can not look away
is it this ostentatious display?

is it the guise of smile that you
show forth to all you peers?
all the while dying inside trying
not to reveal burning tears.

you continue your search
staring in me, confused on what
you are looking for, falling further
into your desperations until
you can stand it no more.

overwhelmed by emotions
you scream and scream at me
and I yell back, but you are too
far gone to hear my cries.

until you shatter my conception
and to pieces I fall and you
fall with me and no one can hear you
call… call for help, my hollers, your yelps
and we lie there misshapen and in ruins
and swept away by time.

and to no one but our own despair,
no one missed us, they never even noticed we were there.