Tell Me Where It Hurts Poem by Samah Khan

I talked to the sun one fine day
With tears streaming down in curious haste
He cocked an eyebrow and beamed a ray
And asked, disconcerted 'Why the long face? '
I hung my head and looked properly meek
And said, 'I've no one to trust, and my shoulders are weak;
If the burden is large and I must bear it for long,
I wish for a companion on whom to lean on'.

The sun smiled compassionately and knowingly replied,
'I'll be your friend to love and to hold,
I'll be the one in whom you will confide
I'll shine on you sunbeams braided from gold; '
And then he warmed me from head to girth,
And sang softly, 'Tell me where it hurts? '

The day went by in pleasant verse
As he and I did at length converse
I felt my encumbrances slip away,
But, unbeknownst to me, so did the day.
Slowly, the sun began to fade in the sky
With ignominy it began to wave goodbye
Leisurely my millstones returned to me
As the avowed friend ceased to be.

I talked to the moon, who rose from amidst nowhere
Was drifting to the clouds, before my tear-stricken face became clear
Asked he without scruple what my woes were
And what misery my heart did incur
I told him what I'd told his sibling before
That my world was crumbling to the floor

The moon, with a bold grin said rather cockily,
'Take me as your confidante and you'll never need another
I'll go through it all with you, I swear, you'll see,
I'll be by your side until forever.'
I nodded with ecstasy, my spirits alight,
Nimble-footed and my future shining bright
I thought to myself:
('Oh, moon, you give way to weary travellers
And you've saved yet another pilgrim')

We talked through the night in muted tones,
It seemed that my heart and soul had grown
All the ills of my past began to seem trivial
All the tears and curses seemed like drunken drivel
The moon inspired and held my hand
Through the breeze he blew, strand-by-strand
And said, in whooshes of air which cooled me from head to girth,
'Tell me where it hurts, child, tell me where it hurts'.
And I no longer felt lonesome and a victim of mistrust,
I held my head high and spoke with august

But then the moon began to shimmer away
Into the light poking at it from within the sky
The black turned to blue, the blue turned to grey
And the moon was gone before I could even say goodbye

And then came you;

For many nights and days you warmed my heart,
I felt my wretchedness begin to depart.
We walked together at the edge of the sea,
Our feet wet and our hair left free
No belief of love was left wanting, and I,
No long snivelled despondently, but truly did cry
And I learnt that tears of joy revive the soul starved of affection
And the hunger slowly leaves you, replacing in its stead blissful perfection
You and I made ringlets in the sand
And castles in the sky

You held me close and whispered in my ear
'Tell me where it hurts-tell me every single fear,
And I shall slay any dragons that haunt you in the night
If there be any obstacles, let me be the one to fight'
Elation filled me, as I said,
'With you, the hurt has fled'.

But then you left, why did you leave?
And all I did was wait, why did I not grieve?
Now my breast is heavy with the weight of two unwanted hearts
One given to me, the other torn apart
I did not shed a tear for you,
Nor did I stalk the path you tread
All I did was lament that the sun and moon were far better company
For with due interlude, they do return
While you, once left, your cowardly back bared to me,
Never once came back to reclaim the heart I long since burnt