Dichotomy

So often found in the strangest of places

Reminds us why

Living can be both melancholy and euphoric.

 

She

Cried in the kitchen

As he barked through the phone,

Twisting words and blaming her

For things she had not done.

 

“You!”

He said in the speaker,

Spitting out the word as

If it were vile on his angry tongue.

“I thought that you cared about

 

Me!”

She broke on the inside, and

A crack appeared in the facade

She had created for him.

This fake version of herself built only to-

 

“Please.”

Her voice trembled, caught in throat.

“Don’t yell at me” The heart

Residing in her breast drummed,

Uncomfortably fast and persistent.

 

Panic

Was the demon in her head,

Convincing the lungs to expand

And contract with rapidity.

Air thinning, patience thinning.

 

Hyperventilation

Clawed in her chest, weighing

Down every breath and

Blackening the edges of tear blurred vision

With doubt and fear.

 

Maybe

The boy was right. Maybe

He was telling the truth. Maybe

He was doing this purely

Out of love for

 

Her

Eyes shut as the phone tumbled

To the hard gleaming tile. She needed

Air. She needed it to stop. She needed

Support. She needed-

 

Him.

She had almost forgotten about him.

This other boy sitting close by,

Perceptive to the situation,

But willing to let her conquer it.

Her best friend.

 

Gentle

With the girl, he took her hands,

And placed their foreheads together.

She shook, he sobbed,

They made it through, because he reminded her to

 

Breathe.

Pain leaked from her eyes

As he gingerly placed the girl on a couch,

Wrapping her in a blanket

And adoration.

 

“Sorry”

She stammered to the boy.

“I never wanted anyone to see

Me this way.” He housed her in

His carpenter arms.

 

Understanding

And compassion flooded the boy’s eyes

And drifted down his soft cheeks, as he spoke

To the broken girl. “This will never change

The way I love you. You are so

 

Strong

To battle something so debilitating.

If anything, seeing you like this

Makes me love you even more.

You are safe. You are with

 

Me

And I will protect you from

Manipulation until my

Dying day. You can be yourself with

Me, and not be scared

 

Because

 

I

 

Love

 

You.”

Dichotomy

In the situation taught

the girl what true love was.

It wasn;t manipulation,

but rather, blissful acceptance.