mercy blow

It's been a long time since I've shared any poems here. Seems like it's about time.

I wrote this one a few weeks ago, while this was happening. Then I forgot about it when this happened. And now I'm revisiting it because this is happening.

Mercy Blow

If you’re going to break my heart, just smash it.
Really.
Hit it hard, one fell swoop to crush completely -
beaten beyond recognition,
no pieces big enough to hint at what it looked like whole,
hopeful.

But no you don’t, do you. No.
Not a stomping, crashing, merciless destroyer, you.
You – a child,
sweet and pensive, with a dandelion gone to seed.
Too slow and thoughtful to give one longed-for
gust of blowing breath – no –
instead you pluck a flimsy fragile wisp,
and then another, each in its own time, carefully and kindly,
killing me.