Helpless Witness
Isn’t it hard to watch something die and know you can’t stop it?
You see them stop being themselves— slowly, like a candle running out of reasons to burn.
You see them stop doing what they love. Stop laughing the way you remember.
You watch as they shift, shape themselves into someone you don’t recognize— and maybe, they don’t either.
You stand beside what once was, and feel yourself become a helpless witness.
Not gone. Not whole. Just fading.
A ghost of their former self— and there’s nothing you can do but watch.
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Comments3
A poem that speaks of gravity pulling at melting wax as the candle bends under its weight of someone changing for what ever cause be it their need or the weight of others on someone too weak to resist. A very nice write of helplessness in a situation that they wish was different.
A touching write of someone changing in front of you, for the worse and there is nothing you can do about it except watch, nicely expressed and written
A beautiful, but sad poem. You've expressed your depiction of the situation in a lovely manner, straight-forward and yet poetic. The image of a melting candle will remain in the reader's eyes for a while. Good poem. - Phil A.
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