I Cannot Stay Here Poem by Tracy Galloway

I cannot stay here
Where your ghosts are tossed about
In a sour sad array
Groaning blame
Splayed out cold on bitter beds
For my display

I cannot feel you
When the windows rattle closed
And the frost creeps to your lips
Cracking throat
Heavy breath wont change the course
Of sinking ships

I cannot keep you
For the fists you dare to curl
Veiled in folds of nervous pause
Pressing finger
Over mouth to quell the choke
You rise to cause

I cannot live here
Under guise of passing joy
While the walls burn with your hiss
You tend the trail
Of desperation leading hatred
To your kiss

I cannot mend you
At the seam of your distrust
Or hem the burden brushing ground
Lest you trip
Mind the dagger in the silence
You have found