The Words I Cannot Say Poem by RIC BASTASA

i have kept the words i cannot say to you
because i know in doing so you will
die,

how can i say them? how can i say them now?
i am lost,
they are throwing stones at me
on the roads that i take
i want to break this silence
i want to speak

but you are always beside me
your hands, you think you are embracing me,
i am chokind, i cannot breathe
your love has been much
beyond what i can take

how can i ever tell you
the word
goodbye, the words, i have changed, the sentence

i am going away, this place is not for me, my heart has no home,
i am heartless, i am empty, i am shattered, i am loved but i cannot love
i am dead.