Prompt: “In The Aftermath of Goodbye”(Poem 316)

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Reaching Back​​​

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in the aftermath
of goodbye –

rain pools
around
trickling tears
sequestered
stifled through
the years...

but now
now –

I am
a tidal
wave
crashing in
drowning discourse
with my pain and

I'm dismayed at
the fact that
I want to
run and
plead...

not for me
but for
her –

the inner child
within me
who always
felt so
unlearned and
unnerved in
having to

think carefully
about
every
little
word
she said because

otherwise
how can she
not go through
life
unnerved??

oh, sweet child
it was never
your fault and
you know
what?

it wasn't
really
hers
either because
she was only
teaching
what was
passed down
to her and

of course
there's
duressing
in second
guessing and

isn't it
introspective??

that often
as adults
we feel
sparks

of our
young hearts
refusing to
return and
be regressive?

in the
aftermath of
goodbye –

I reach for
her hand
the little girl
who even then
always had
stars in
her deep
brown eyes and

would imagine
chasing fireflies
writing words
by their light and

I'd murmur
“it's okay...

it's going
to be –

alright...”

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By Brooklyn Saliba

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Brooklyn Saliba is a 30 something year old poet, writer and photographer, a library assistant by trade, words have always been at the helm of her life and in spare moments of time, she's always scribbling away, trying to capture the fleeting with her lens and pen.

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@brooklyn.obviously