You.

I am a sponge.
I soak up, I absorb, and I take in.
I notice, I observe, and I feel.
Others slide in & out of situations,
Immune to the tensions, the dilemmas, and the shocked silences.

I hold on.
I look around and I empathise.
My minds eye can't let go.
In that moment, I become one with the other. ...
I see what they see.
The injustice, the unfairness and the betrayal.
The images and the unsaid, they remain.

Hard to shake off, I find it strange.
The others, they speak without care.
My mind races, I evaluate & then re-evaluate.
How, what, why and when should I speak?
But they, the others, they don’t think.
Hurtful & contemptuous, they don’t stop.
They lie, the malicious rumours they spread.
But closer than my jugular vein, I know You know.

I sigh, I breathe, and I look away.
My tongue, heavy with responsibility, only wants to please.
Not they, not the others, no. Just You.

© Amy Serafina

The daughter you never saw grow

They say time’s a healer, but no, they lie.
The gap you left only gets bigger each day.
The girl you left behind became a woman you'll never know.

You were my shade in the sun, my umbrella in the rain.
You kept me safe; your strong arms guiding my path.
In tears of sadness & joy, your wisdom I'll never have again.

You'll never give me away or see my children grow.
Yet somehow, you live within me every day.
Your absence drives me more than your presence ever could.

I imagine you sitting cross legged with your head buried in a book.
A piping hot cup of tea and a prayer mat by your side.
Every now & then you burst into song!

Maybe you'll look down one day & smile,
knowing I tried my best,
to be the daughter you never saw grow.

© Amy Serafina

Random conversations

Two friends (male and female) on the train discuss how the female friend should dump a guy after one date. After 15minutes of a thorough analysis, they agree to her telling him that “there’s no chemistry, so there will be no biology” (!).

I exist.

It was a small cut. A single blade dug deep into my leg. A sharp scratch. A slight burn as the skin peeled open. Intense pain spiralling through me. Familiar. Comforting. Soothing.

The blood trickled out, bit by bit. A pool of red gathered at my foot. My leg, bloodied & marked, ached. Deep sigh. The relief! Oh, how good it feels!

I exist. I am real. And this, yes THIS tells me so.

© All rights belong to Amy Serafina.