PoetBay.com, the poetry webpage where you can publish your poems and short stories

Feburary 6, 2021.
it's better to burn out than to fade away

it was not effortless

surely he tore his vocal cords
i saw the tears well up in his eyes
his hair was messy, his back slouched
and it was beautiful

but it was not effortless
it looked like it hurt
his singing was screaming
took the air from his lungs

he was no peaceful night
not a steadily growing garden
not a gentle push and pull
he was waves crashing and lightning cracking its whip

he was the sun that blinded you every morning
he was a kiss that left your lips burning
with his absence came mourning
then we all felt how badly he was hurting

he was not bones maturing at life's pace
he was bones breaking and teeth grinding
he was not a caligraphy pen gracefully gliding
he was nails on a chalkboard

and no, it did not come natural
he was a force to be reckoned with
a creation of love and loss
he made others ache by just the crack of his voice

his soul and his heart on full display
easily corrupted but so proud
he put all his energy into every breath
a light so bright in this world that it would quickly burn out

Poetry by aidan haskel