Discordant Notes Poem by Anita Atina

Why is it that we remain tied down in pain

To relationships that have turned cancerous


Is breaking away so difficult

Does fear keep the choice at bay?


Fear of loneliness, what will the neighbours say?

A child’s innocence that you shield from pain


Drifted apart spiritually

But caged in the same home


Attacking each other at the slightest provocation

Scraping a bloody sore, doesn’t change a thing, only deepens the pain


Tried counseling, staying apart, and coming back again

To the same refrain, so what’s to gain?


Accepting that we are different

Not bad people, but may be unsuitable for each other


Even though we fell in love, ages ago

Our differences haven’t melted away, but come to the fore


We are two prongs of a tuning fork

Vibrating at different frequencies


Even if we hit the same base over and over again

We won’t sound the same


These discordant notes

Aren’t going to change


Is breaking away a new beginning

Or just a one way ticket


That sets you free from one cage

Into another lonelier place?