There’s no base thumping through the bedroom floor.
And we never have to shout “Don’t slam the door.”
The ‘phone doesn’t ring much anymore,
But the clock ticks loud in the silence.
No arguments about what we watch on TV,
We can watch what we want, though there’s not much to see
Conversation is dying between her and me,
Just the tick of the clock breaks the silence.
We don’t need to listen for their keys in the door.
There’s no need to wait up for them anymore,
She goes to bed early, staying up is a chore,
Leaving me and the clock in the silence.
No more disbelief at the price of new shoes,
And planning the meals, well, that’s easy to do,
I say “Don’t go to much trouble, it’s just us two”
And the clock roars on through the silence.
These days we seem more dead than alive,
If we’re staying together, if we mean to survive,
We’ll need something more to fill up our lives,
Much more than the clock and the silence.
Author notes
SILENCE
A contest entry
- Marriage by SweetNessaLynn.
525 points, ended July 24, 2008, 5 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Marriage-Wreck by Perfect Insanity.
850 points, ended November 17, 2008, 15 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Divorce by AaronGott.
475 points, ended February 5, 13 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Word Prompts by Rashida.
1100 points, ended February 10, 29 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
Wow. Just wow. You really captured the image of a relationship gone stagnant. It hasn't soured, it just kinda... is. Amazing piece, thank you for entering.
-
This is a magnificent piece. Very well written. It is very sad. As I read I thought of the word indifference. Not that you do not care, but that you are worn down with all that life takes away and all that is left.
There is definitely a loss of connection here and you express that so well with your formatting and verbiage. The little details, the imagery and the details truly do make this a wonderful poem. It seems to me that even the fights and arguments are preferable than this quiet silence...
Amazing use of the title. I truly liked this stanza:
"These days we seem more dead than alive,
If we’re staying together, if we mean to survive,
We’ll need something more to fill up our lives,
Much more than the clock and the silence."
Here you state what happened and what is needed. I believe a lot of people today are more dead than alive. Why don't you go for it...? Find something new. Talk to her... get a puppy, bring some remembrance... talk to your children.. invite them for dinner.... I wish you the best. Good luck. ♥ -
This sounds like you two have lost your connection since the kids have grown and gone. This is kind of sad. I wish you all the best. Thank you for entering.
Adding your comment:
