My attention was turned
inward, towards a rest hard-earned
no longer on guard, my wariness adjourned
when you took a breath then spoke:
"We need to...
-
No. Not now. Oh PLEASE
why disengage this Sword of Damocles
that we've been dodging with grudging ease
what are you trying to provoke?
"We need to...
-
Shoulders taut I hold my ground
too afraid to turn around
lest in your eyes I see hope faltering, drowned
the truth that made you reveal, uncloak:
"We need to...
-
If I turn we'll need to do a lot of things
like pack some bags, remove our rings
unveiling truths, enduring stings,
face that your vows went up in smoke:
"We need to...
-
I took a breath and aged twelve years,
gulped down the wet of twelve years' tears
turned releasing hope to name my fears
preparing for you, for us, to unyoke
"We need to talk," you said.
About the Creator
Judey Kalchik
It's my time to find and use my voice.
Poetry, short stories, memories, and a lot of things I think and wish I'd known a long time ago.
You can also find me on Medium
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FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Team5 days ago in Resources
Comments (4)
The tension in this set my heart racing Judey!! Loved this!
There is just too much of that these days...the dreaded words...hope I don't meet them anytime soon. Hope you didn't. Blessed.
When you know….you know. Yet who wants to know when it’s over. So well said, so heartfelt and lonely
Oh man, this hits hard, Judey. “I took a breath and aged 12 years,” and “face that your vows went up in smoke” felt so relatable.