To me, sorrow is the emotion that takes up the most space, weighing down my heart every time it strikes. Poetry is my remedy for it. It helps contain sorrow into a form the page can hold in my stead. In this way, poetry frees up room for more positive emotions. This collection is a reflection of what sorrow feels to me.
If you were me
If you were me
You would hold yourself tight
And weep in those arms
In the dark of the night
If you were me
You would let yourself drown
In a sea of sunsets
Till your heart ceases to pound
If you were me
You would reach out those hands
To break through the noose
But to only find sand
If I were you
I wouldn’t say a word
Just hug myself tight
Till the world goes unheard
If you were me explores the hopelessness that comes with sorrow and the need to escape from it.
The Promise Never Kept
She was light
With a tinge of darkness
She sometimes lied
But always from kindness
She lived
Until hope hid in the dark
And the dark erased her
And all that was left was me
So forgive me because
I am not
What she asked for
I am not
The person
I promised her I’d be
The Promise Never Kept captures sorrow that stems from feeling like you have disappointed your younger self or a loved one.
Time
The past is
The wind of lost dreams
Pulling me back
The present is
The fractured light
Keeping me upright
The future is
The fantasy of hope
Escaping my hold
Time shows how sorrow magnifies despair, and the way it consumes life in every direction you look. The poem also gives the sense that under sorrow, having hope is a daring thing.
Echo of My Heart
To feel
The echo of my heart
Look into my eyes
And you may learn
The truth in all the lies
To hold
The weakness of my heart
Linger in the gaze
And you may catch
The bruises of my soul
To guard
The sorrow of my heart
Glance to break away
And I may keep
The secret to myself
Echo of My Heart comes from the idea that the heart is where our emotions lie. The poem conveys the need for empathy, for others to feel the echo of our emotions, but also the fear of reaching out to attain it.
Phantoms in the Rain
Scattered in the rain
Your reflection, I find
Broken, misaligned
The way we intertwine
Each drop, the rain erodes
Skin, muscles, and bones
Each drop, hands on heart
Salvaging in vain
Phantoms, you and I
Destined to weather it
Phantoms, you and I
Forever side by side
Phantoms in the Rain demonstrates the power of knowing you are not struggling alone, and the comfort this realization gives when faced with sorrow.
MiC Columnist Tian Yeung can be reached at tiyeung@umich.edu.