Life On Pause

A moving poem exploring the pain, frozen time, and shared captivity of loving an inmate.

Life on Pause


The clock still ticks, the seasons change,
Yet nothing feels the same.
The world keeps turning without you here,
But my heart remains restrained.


Birthdays pass and holidays fade,
Photographs collect their dust.
I smile when others look my way,
But inside, I’m barely holding up.


People say that time moves on,
That healing comes with every day.
What they don’t see is how my life
Has been standing still this way.


Your empty chair, your silent voice,
The space you left behind—
A constant reminder that prison walls
Can cage more than one life at a time.


I watch the years slip through our hands,
Moments we’ll never get back.
Dreams postponed, plans suspended,
Love stretched across the cracks.


Some nights I close my eyes and pray
For the day those gates swing wide,
When I won’t have to count the months
Or keep my tears disguised.


Until then, I’m caught between
The life I have and the one I miss,
Living in a world that moves ahead
While mine remains frozen like this.


Because when they locked you away,
They didn’t just imprison you—
They put a piece of my life on hold,
And left me waiting too.