She never ate because
She always said she felt
Nauseas from the moment
She reached over
To grab my shoulder
Spinning me around
To wake me

Understanding that
The light tastes
Better in the night
Reverberating thoughts
In counter-balance
Struggling to
Give up searching
Or to search for
Never-ending
Memories of sight

Despite her
Lack of vision
The delusion
Of safety
Rested patiently
Within her spine
That constantly
Resisted the
Sensations
Of snapping

Synapses refracted
The chemical
Touches but
I never really took
The time to
Consider the
Repercussions of
Holding grudges

Clean hands
Outstretched—

But did you forget
That we sketched the
Same mindset?

Replacing feelings
With memories
Tracing curvatures
Of letters of
Emotional alphabets

Maybe it's time
We ask for forgiveness

Perhaps we both
Wanted to be caught

Talie m. Zrihen

She found me
On my knees
So I guess
I got what
I was
Praying for

She had a tendency
To give me less
When I'd ask for more
Because she said
Clean hands were
Never outstretched—
Searching

I wonder what she'd
Think of the holes
I've dug, trying to
Find her

I wonder if I patched
Them well enough
Or how many she'll uncover
I always wanted
To be caught

Never really liked
Keeping secrets
Kept me feeling weighted
Like I'd sink below
My own two feet
Which is why she
Found me on
My knees

Wasn't going to ask
For forgiveness
Thought it was courtesy
To meet my demons halfway

No one knows the road
To heaven like
The one I've paved
So I might as well
Lead the way

Vice versa:

Her hunger for
Fabricated concepts
Left her body frail

The only nutrition
She obtained was
In false convictions
That she traced
With her fingertips

She
Was poetry

I guess I finally
Understood what
Humans meant when
They said
"that makes
Two of us"

But how
Can we
Be a pair
Appearing
Whole
When you're still
The one I've
Been praying for?

Can you hear
The wreckage?

Summer kept
Us cold
As flames
Burned into
The night from
Hollowed caves
That claimed
Your eyes

Your outstretched
Hands used to be
Free of debris
Before you tried
To cover the holes
I've dug
Trying to
Find you

Talie m. Zrihen

I see you
Behind closed eyelids
Ask you for forgiveness
You said you already
Forgot the nights—
You know I didn't

Knees bruised
Hands clasped

Winter came while
You were sleeping
And I tried to
Wish it away

She says
"the sun don't
Shine like it used to"

I think she forgot
How to spread out and take

She was
Raised by
Whiskey and cigarettes
Said she'll leave me
If I don't quit
So I moved to
Where the sun
Would convince
Her to stay

Can you taste
The wreckage?

Been swallowing
The right words
At the wrong time
Tongue tied
Teeth loose—

Not every poem
Is a poem

Sometimes they
Are a prison

But I am not
Afraid to recite
I am not afraid
To ask for
Forgiveness
I'm not afraid of
Broken hearts

I'm afraid
Of stale
Stagnant...
Doesn't ask
For help