Anthony Hanible

The Thread Broke

I was hanging on by a thread  

Thin

Frayed

Already whispering its warnings  

Each time the weight shifted

You know that feeling

When you’re holding everything Together  

With one trembling strand

Hoping it doesn’t snap  

Before you find a place to rest

But it did  

It broke  

Not loud

Not dramatic

Just a soft

Cruel pop  

That only I could hear

And suddenly the world tilted

All the things I’d been balancing  

Fell through my hands 

Scattering like dropped glass

I didn’t fall apart

Not exactly

But something opened 

Something gave way

Something I’d been gripping  

Too tightly for too long.

Sometimes the thread breaking  

Isn’t the disaster

It’s the truth

The moment you finally see  

How heavy it all was

How impossible it was  

To keep holding on alone