Ever have an argument with somebody you love?

...Ever had a silent argument with somebody you love?

I assure you, the latter is much harder.

“The Burden Carried”


He has a blank face and a blanker stance,
But his eyes sink deep into his skull,
Where a lack of sleep draws its toll
In red. There’s much to be said
That's not worth saying; why add it
To the burden carried?
Wilting rouge-rimmed orbs
Of silver show a glimmer
Of his truth: He’s weary,
Yet willing none of it to show.
Clearly, he doesn’t know
That I saw the blow fall,
Fist to wall, when he
Introduced his knuckles
To plaster and the studs behind,
Evenly aligned, hard, upstanding,
And ram-rod straight,
Like the truth behind the fake façade.
And for his sake I make
Like I don’t know, like he doesn’t show
That he’s an E-string about to go,
Snap with a painful twang
And a great unfurling, curling
In upon himself,
Twisted, listless, and mute.
Yes, there’s much to say that he’s not saying,
And it’s added to the burden carried.

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"I don't care what your grandmother says, Harlequin romance novels are not influential literature!"