Poetry: Kelli J Gavin

Kelli J Gavin

Here I Stand

All of me

The good

The bad

The beautiful

Here I stand

All of me

What you love

What you want

What you need

Here I stand

All of me

Each smile

Each caress

Each embrace

Here I stand

All of me

Today I'm yours

Today and tomorrow

Today and forever

Here I stand

***

Edge of Night

Just when I think sleep will be obtained

When the edge of night seems to be within my grasp

There you are so close, yet so far

Almost within reach but each time I extend my hand

You seem to move just a bit further away

Realizing this isn't any different than in real life

I stop reaching for you, wanting you, trying to pull you near

Every time you have been present and right in front of me

You've slipped through my grasp

Always knowing I wanted to possess you

I feel you took joy in the chase as much as in the act of fleeing

Not only did you not want to be possessed

You never desired to be loved wholly and truly

I've given up the pursuit during the sunlit hours

And I no longer wish for you on the edge of night

***

Hold On

I always heard that when you find someone you love

You should hold on for dear life

But why?

Holding on to someone who doesn't wish to be present seems futile

Keeping you here is selfish

Only for my benefit 

Especially when I know your heart has moved on

You have stayed longer than necessary

You are loyal and duty bound

In the end you feel stuck 

No longer wanting to be right where you are

If I am honest with myself, I became comfortable with your presence

You were someone to fill the void

It wasn't really love, was it?

Now I believe you were a placeholder

For the one I will want to hold on to

***

Scar Tissue

Weathered and worn

Bruised and battered

My heart has become a fortress

Impenetrable and barely functioning

Every ounce of love it once possessed

Has turned to bricks used to create

An even taller bulwark that is not meant to climb

Rough edges and occasional weeping holes

The scar tissue is threatening to no longer serve a purpose

Once mended and bound tightly

I can no longer hold in this pain 

One assignment- close the wound

You can't even do your job

***

---

Setu, April 2022