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Mar 03, 2026
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Burning Bridges
I'm tired.
I no longer have the strength to squeeze through porcelain cracks,
To face irrational fears that materialize with each passing day.
You tell me it's okay, but my nervous system contracts painfully in a rhythmic pattern,
It makes me stare at the ceiling for hours on end,
It makes me become the clueless character in a cheap movie,
But I do nothing about it,
Because I can't.
I just can't.
My nerve fibers refuse to break imaginary platonic connections,
To throw away long-broken treaties of friendship,
Even if I wanted to, I couldn't.
You stole all my lighters,
I can't burn the bridges between us.
I choose to stick with unrealistic options of platonic connection,
With bridges that are forever under construction,
That won't let me cross,
With fences long closed,
Already rusted.
I tell myself it's better than nothing,
But is that really true?
About This Poem
Style/Type: Free verse
Review Request Direction:
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
Is the internal logic consistent?
Editing Stage: Not actively editing
Comments
Geezer
1 month 2 weeks ago
Yeah...
they fall apart and never get rebuilt. I still build from those basic friendships and the kind of people that I lived with... The ones that I married, the ones that were connected to them and me and my kids...
Those things matter, and if you didn't see the worst of a person, who does it profit to say? I can only wish that people remember me for the best of a relationship. ~ Geezer.
.
BlueBerry
1 month 2 weeks ago
Bridges to burn...
The setup of the poem is entirely postmodernist. I like it. You are moving in the same direction as with the other poems here. The structure is there, along with the rhythm you have established through the verses.
You are expressing your inner dissatisfaction and the conflicts you experience. The issue of the internal versus and the external world, the justification, and the potential search for a solution are very well connected. The rhetorical question at the end provides a reflection on what preceded it, which is perhaps the best choice for the ending of the poem.
Keep going with this...
Lavender
1 month 1 week ago
Burning Bridges
Hello, Valentin,
So relatable. Wonderful first and second lines, especially the word "porcelain." The imagery throughout the poem is vivid and clear - staring at the ceiling for hours on end, stole all my lighters, fences long closed...
This is excellent. Keeping with the contest theme of not burning bridges, this poem speaks of those relationships that should probably be put in the past.
Thank you!
Lavender