The free-form poem is not in its final draft. Additional versions will be shared at a later date. The last two lines end in “ing.” Those are not the quality of words this poem deserves for its conclusion.

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A marriage built on silence,  

With no shared passions. 

I see his pain,  

I pray it doesn’t devour him. 

I pray it doesn’t devour me. 

Silence paused by angry words. 

Understood and empathized. 

It goes unrecognized. 

He didn’t see my pain. 

He still doesn’t. 

Echoes of the past reverberate,  

But silence again, sustained. 

The catalyst of a quiet divorce. 

Where love became a bore. 

Oh, but how I still do adore, 

The way you once looked at me. 

Those versions of us changed,  

And paths must diverge, 

The chains must be purged.  

The weight is too much to carry, 

It has me on my knees. 

The ring symbolizes your security, 

To me it is a creative and spiritual death. 

I’m so sorry, things need rearranging. 

This isn’t working.