I just saw you, and my heart broke in seconds.
Not being able to talk to me, to say those sweet and lovely words:
"How are you? How is your family? When are you coming? I am okay..."
Not recognizing me—it felt so strong.
An unexpected storm hit me with stones.
I was unable to react, just a pain in my stomach.
Guilty for not being able to come and see you...
See you one more time and hear you tell me everything is going to be okay...
I would hold your hand and tell you not to let go, but...
Shadows are there, dragging you into eternal darkness.
Maybe I will come. I don’t know.
I am scared, terrified to see you.
Not sure if I can handle it.
I've never been good with pain—I just run away from it,
as much as I can, as far as I can.
Avoiding it seems easier.
Or maybe... I just don’t want to see you go.
Or remember you as you once were—strong, smiling...
I’m sorry.
I’m the kind of person who vanishes when things get tough and painful.
I’m sorry for not being there.
About the Creator
Ina Zeneli
In love with writing books for kids, young adults, poetry, and novels.
Find my books here:
https://a.co/d/3kb8btt
https://www.amazon.com/author/inazeneli
Reader insights
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Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
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One Unchecked Box
"Republished" because it was the only way to add the embed for the newly recorded audio version of this story due to the Top Story badge. Plus it serves as a nice, informal announcement of the podcast's revival for another season (go subscribe!):
By Stephen A. Roddewig6 days ago in Fiction
Comments (17)
What a fantastic poem you have emotions creating a deep poem, beautifully expressing love, guilt, and fear. You have written it to capture readers emotionally fallen to your poem. Good luck.
A poem that directly connects my soul with the deepest emotions hidden within. I wish that the pain for our loved ones transforms into love in their hearts and that they always forgive us. 💚
Heartwrentching!!!❤️❤️💕
Really heartbreaking...!
Goodbyes are so Painful😪❣️❣️❣️
Nice written keep it up
Wonderful heartfelt writing. I completely felt the same way when my Nana died.
Congrats 🍾🎊🎈🎉 on Top Story !
Oh my heart breaks for you, it breaks for her too. I understand that feeling, wanting to flee when the pain and fear gets too much. Wanting to see her the way she was, strong and smiling. The contradiction: wanting to be there, but not feeling strong enough, being pulled in two different directions. Wanting to say these words to her, wanting to say them somewhere, so that you could still go see her… Beautiful, heartbreaking but beautiful. Congratulations on your Top Story Ina 🎉🎊🎉 👏🏽👌🏽♥️🤗
Your poem is raw and vulnerable, beautifully expressing the inner conflict and fear of facing pain.
This is awesome! I especially love <An unexpected storm hit me with stones.> Very cool! ⚡💙⚡
Wow, this hit me. I really resonate with this. Trying so hard to be more present in these situations. This is beautiful, great job. Congrats on Top Story
And THAT is real! And no one teaches us...hands out tips/pointers. How do we attain mastery of those parts of us that can't handle it/can't function/drown? This poem brings up the right thoughts for reflection. Thank you for writing it. Congratulations on the top story recognition!
So, the voice in the poem runs away from pain and yet the irony is that it is present in every single line of this composition.
Congrats 🍾🎊🎉🎈 on top Story
Such a sad poem. My wife and I haven't seen our Granddaughter since August 2023. People with dementia are know to have brief periods of lucidness. Please go see your Grandmother, for no one knows exactly what they can feel and what they know. If nothing else you will feel better knowing you went.
so emotional and painful, Ina🫂