If you saw me wake up crying,
would you be disappointed in my weakness,
scorning the fissure in the strength you love?
Or could you somehow allow
that I am all too human, too,
and not a goddess that you hold within your arms?

If I woke you in the night
screaming aloud in my sleep,
would you wake me, too, and save me from myself?
Or would you roll back over,
say a prayer for your hard hearing,
and ignorantly think it'll all be gone by dawn?

If you knew what it was I dreamed of,
if you ever bothered to ask,
if you could imagine living through it
that day and every other,
you might not ignore it
or ask me stupid questions,
like "what's wrong with you?"
or "why can't you just get over it?"
and "wasn't that years ago?"

You might just sit there quietly,
in silent compassion and empathy,
knowing you could never fully understand
but trying anyway to ease a little of the pain
by the sheer strength of your love
as I cling to you as if
you'll be torn away at any moment.

And the best thing you could say
wouldn't be "I love you" or "It's alright now;"
it'd be a simple, truthful
"I'm not going anywhere, I'm here."

07/21/2003

Author's Note: I'm debating whether to turn this into a song or not. Thinking no at the moment, but who knows.

Posted on 07/21/2003
Copyright © 2025 Amanda J Cobb