At Cross-Purposes

Brittle bones may splinter and crack in crisis.  

Some mend with time 

yet hairline fractures remain below the surface.

Secrets and lies have eaten through the natural bonds between us and only a thin veneer of civility covers the gulf separating our two hearts.

Tightly held by guilt and obligation,  I close my eyes--- struggling to hold onto compassion while preserving my own self-respect.

With simple sweetness and a light touch
   your smile warms my doubtful heart.
I am a restless soul wandering through a maze of my own making
  and yet you hold me tightly against the dark.
I can only strive to be a comfort in the night for you in return.

www.staceyrasfeld.com

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Sunlight slips through the hourglass, each grain

a moment, a single hope, a half-forgttoen dream, a buried shame, a biting regret.

Tiny crystals spin ever downward: white lies

told to spare someone’s feelings, invitations delcined,

phone calls and emails unanswered.

Each small transgression dropped upon another,

A slowly built fortess of silence and isolation.