The shortest distance between two people is a story.
The longest, is silence
You told me once that I didn't know you
8 months in and I'm not truly aware of the gift wrapped stress enhancing forever dropped on my social media that day
I was confused....mostly because every second I spend with you I try wrapping my head around every little detail, every break in sentences, every hesitant parting of the lips before speaking because you won't dare let me hear what's wrong
I read in between silence for you.
And those same lips poised themselves to say I didn't know you
To say your ex spent a year and a month not knowing you
How long do I have to spend knowing you to know you?
Getting to know you was supposed to be done before we got here
But I know you!
And silence is your communication with yourself so how could you possibly break it to let me climb through
Sometimes when I'm in your arms I swear I hear whispers escaping your ears, see screams pouring from your eyes, feel the vibrations of a self inflicted war beating through your fingertips
And I wonder if a one man army is best suited for your demons or if you've already lost the war and your personal hell is to keep fighting it with your last shrivel of hope that maybe just one of your hits will land
Sometimes I see the indifference in your eyes shine through with backed pain from your childhood when she greets you, feel the heated bubbling of rage towards your sister and hear the word "lucky" in "bitch"
Because how lucky she is she was so young
How lucky she is that she can fuck up normally
How fucked up do you have to be before you let my jagged hands hold yours
You're not the only one who's been shattered
Not the only one with stories
Not the only one capable of bearing burdens that don't quite belong to you
And hell if you don't think I know you, I know me
And I know myself well enough to know I wouldn't waste 8 months on a stranger
On nothingness
On not knowing
So don't insult the poet inside of me like that.
Don't rip my only reason for existence from my core
If you know me, spare my heart the battle of your mind