Put It All Away

Pain.
Sharp.
Deep.
Choking.

I can no longer sit and watch myself bleed out.
I have to put it all away.

I've waited.
I've tried.
I've begged.
I've fought.

I've been given no choice but to give up.
I have to put it all away.

All that I've felt.
All that I've gained.
All that I've lost.
All that has been broken.

I can't save it alone.  I couldn't save it alone.
I have to put it all away.

Sweep up the pieces.
The shattered needs.
The raw vulnerability.
They couldn't survive recklessness.

Intentional.
Careless.
Selfish.
Thoughtless.

The choices made were not my own.
I have to put it all away.

Consequences no one understands.
Yet I must pay.
The little one's new voice buried in silence.
The wicked one simply lost in emptiness.

No one to comfort.
The ache, the hurt, the tears.
No one who understands or even cares.
All that was lost.

I have to survive.  I always just survive.
I have to put it all away.
~A Very Weary Lioness