The quiet came

and I remembered I

was not okay.

 

There was no sweet embrace

or somebody special to lie next to

and there would not be

it seemed

for a long while.

 

I could taste disappointment

in my mouth,

especially on my tongue

but it was strongest in my

veins,

flowing with my blood,

and there was something fierce

and unforgiving

about it.

 

I remembered how my dreams

let me down

and abandoned me on some

dark

corner

to fend for myself.

 

A life once seeming so full of

potential,

as a golden child,

a prodigy,

now idling on a hill

unable to climb further,

as a runner looking up a steep climb

only to realize they had the freedom

to stop

and it meant the exact same as

moving forward.