Graphics by Dot

MAYBE

by Mariane Holbrook 

Maybe if I’d tried harder, 
run faster, held tighter, 
I could have kept you. 

Maybe if I’d found a way 
to pierce through your steel resolve 
and expose your reasons, 
I could have held on. 

Maybe my immediate needs exceeded yours 
and I should have extended 
my self-imposed time line; 
I’ll never know. 

Maybe my dreams of gauze were too fragile 
to withstand the brutal winds 
of your discontent and disappointment; 
I can’t be sure. 

I only know I tried
and cried,
but ultimately,
I failed.