Challenging Poetry

did you know?

when it was too late,
I thought to ask—

were you happy?
my world was better for you.
did I tell you?
do you know that I still
listen for the sound of your footsteps?
that the smell vanilla and peaches
makes me turn for a glimpse of you?
there are so many
false peaches in the world.

did I make you happy?
did I make you proud?
when I triumph, my first thought
is to tell you. when I despair,
yours is the voice in my head
telling me to find the music,
to get up, to dance.
sometimes, I danced so you
wouldn’t know I wanted to stop.

I’ve hated seeing your pain,
growing within until your skin
was filled to overflowing.
I wanted to take it away.
not this way. please,
never this way.
won’t you stay? I need you to stay.
I hate that you have to leave me.
did you ever feel alone?
did I ever let you feel alone?

I asked,
but she had no breath left
to tell me, so I buried
the answers with her.

line count: 34