in the end

arqios



In the End

 

I carried the shape you traced,

a vessel cut to your measure,

but the grain ran otherwise—

knots where you wanted polish,

splinters where you asked for sheen.

 

I bent, yes,

but the bend was fracture,

and the fracture sang its own line.

 

You looked for a mirror,

I offered a window.

You asked for a key,

I was only a door left ajar.

 

So this saga closes:

not as betrayal,

not as triumph,

but as the quiet fact—

I was never the figure

you drafted in your hand.

 

And still,

I remain:

unfinished,

unwanted,

yet wholly mine.

 

 

 

.

  • Author: crypticbard (Pseudonym) (Offline Offline)
  • Published: November 5th, 2025 05:00
  • Comment from author about the poem: A YouTube video has been added, postscript, of Tommy Lee Jones soliloquising (almost) that may add in the reading for those inclined. You may need to bring the volume up, so watch out for that.
  • Category: Unclassified
  • Views: 60
  • Users favorite of this poem: sorenbarrett, Paul Bell, Tristan Robert Lange, Carlos Alberto BUSTILLOS
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Comments +

Comments10

  • orchidee

    You've started at the end. Will you get to the beginning?! Good write A. lol.

    • arqios

      Ah, that’s an excellent observe there, O🕊️🙏🏻

      • orchidee

        Have I started getting cryptic now? So I won't know what I'm talking about. Aww, why they say to me, 'No change there then!' Heehee.

      • Doggerel Dave

        "the masked 'reader' not responding... not there? one way conversation now?

      • nephilim56 ( Norman Dickson)

        a good write , enjoyed

      • sorenbarrett

        Cryptic although arcane this piece has deep meaning for me. How often we attempt to please but our vision is not that of the one we wish to oblige. In the end no one to blame remains two separate beings, neither content but just who they are. Very nicely crafted (but the grain ran otherwise) a great metaphor my friend and it says it all. So it is with our poems as well. Cut to specifications to some they are not polished.

        • arqios

          That’s right there, the very heart dear Soren. Thanks for sharing your most valued thoughts 🕊️🙏🏻

          • sorenbarrett

            Always most welcome

          • Thomas W Case

            Brilliant work.

          • Paul Bell

            There is a wanting here, crumbs, acknowledgement, but nothing transpires.
            The picture portrays a man at the end, maybe left with some dignity, but not much more.

          • Kevin Hulme

            So much in this . The way a person shapes us; effects our being. Deep and meaningful.
            Fine Poem.

          • Goldfinch60

            Opposites do attract on may occasions Rik but not all the time.

            Andy

          • Tristan Robert Lange

            It’s spare, honest, and unflinching…a declaration without noise. The final “wholly mine” lands like breath after long silence. Beautiful work, my friend. 🌹🖤🙏🕯️🐦‍⬛

          • NafisaSB

            To bend, and yet not break but stay true to self- an achievement indeed



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