The most liked piece in 2018 on My Screaming Twenties. Thank you all for your support. I’m excited for what 2019 holds and the release of my debut poetry collection in the Spring.
Therapy
On our first date
I told you I’d dated
two before you.
The first, Liza
was blonde, stern
but held stories
in her eyes, yours, mine
and every fortnight
we sat before her fireplace.
I often cried and she held me
at arms length,
preferring emails
to the confines of a room;
room I took up with my mess.
My unopened boxes,
my sellotape bandaged boxes,
my squished boxes.
With time we grew distant,
the tears stopped
and she had conversations
with my inbox.
The second, Mary,
we never met.
She knew I had a lonely heart
so we talked;
about grief and change
whilst I watched birds
flutter and settle in trees
across the street,
her dulcet tones
soothing my sorrow.
We talked about blessings
and curses, what it means
to grow.
We never met, but I loved her;
for the time she spent,
an hour in my car
talking me down
and keeping me sane,
safe enough to drive again,
to make it home.
I suppose I’ll always regret
letting her go.
You didn’t seem to mind
you weren’t my first,
in fact, I’m sure in your smile
and my sweaty palms,
we both already knew
you wouldn’t be my last.
© Kristiana Reed 2018