PERSON Poem: And then we never spoke again., by Maerie Rhodoch

I know you in proximity
To the past and in the distance
You’re still all around me
No, really, in the present
You’re in the cafe down the street
In the stories our friends tell me
You’re no longer a force I can reach

I played a futile game
One that only the desperate try
Once I’d extended my hand as far as it would go, I waited
But you never reached my way

I didn’t say anything
Because in that moment, it was heard
The clearest answer you could muster
And you never said a word.

I could’ve called to you in that moment
Or in one thereafter
I never fashioned myself a quitter
But there was nothing left to say
No words would fix the broken dreams already splayed

I drowned them in the silence
In a place not far away
It had to be slaughtered
Ignore the temptation to drift for longer
The price of my dignity could not be outweighed

We’ll never truly live in tandem
At least not in the same way
Life will go on
But that closeness is gone
And replaced by an indifference of sorts
I’ll never again try to walk your way

I won’t pretend I wasn’t bitter
There’s still a trace of it on this page
I’ll do my best to let it rest
One day, the proximity will simply fade