Illustration by Yana Peeva
The Spaces Between Us
Three poems explore the fragility of love, identity, and loneliness, capturing the quiet pain of connection, inner conflict, and the haunting fear of being truly seen and understood.
Sep 22, 2024
Cold Silence
They leave my hands a little cold
like the monster that lives inside them
But I don’t shiver, or shake, or tremble
They call me names I’ve never heard before
and look at me with eyes, I never knew could grace mine
so I give it up for them
I give it all up for them
I let the monster take my hand
and let us dance on their living room floor
but when the lights switch off
and all we have is cold silence
I whimper
but only slightly
and only in fear
that they’ll leave me
because my monster doesn’t know
what it's like to be touched
what it's like to be seen
but when they leave my hands a little cold
I don’t shiver, or shake, or tremble
I give it up for them
I give it all up for them
Scarlet
It's been a while since I’ve seen my face
only ever distant eyes looking back at me
but I can't seem to look away
or wash away this stain
the stain on my forehead
that marks me
that scars me
that shames me
calling me names
causing me to stay silent
but how do I wash away
the only thing that feels like home
the only thing that feels real but maybe if I scrub
and scrub
and scrub
leaving my face red
at least I'll know why I burn
when i think of you
A broken home
You claim to hate where you are now
like you live alone in the home you call ours
but you buy candles for me to light
you put up shelves for all my books
and you paint the walls my favorite color
you don’t complain or throw a fit
but I hear your sighs echo,
from your empty side of the room
the side you chose
after you picked the best side for me
I give you space
you say you don’t need
but you don’t notice
when I can’t seem to string a sentence together
because I don’t know how to speak to you
You say you wish things were different
like the life we have was built on sand
but I call your name when I cry
and you hold my shoulders
when I need you
you don’t fuss and you don’t whine
but you built a home
we can only call mine
- Micah is Deputy Features Editor. Email them at feedback@thegazelle.org*
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