By Rangehbok Lyngwa
I could ask a million questions
And the world could provide answers
But not this
For I fail to understand
How have I failed you?
Or anyone else for that matter.
That smile, that giggle
That adolescent blush,
Did well to conceal
How badly you struggled with yourself,
How hurt you were.
For you managed to mask
Your bruises well
With make up?
While the world kept singing,
Kept dancing,
Kept making reels.
You, on the other hand
In that corner of your inner self,
You cried hard, cried loud,
Wanting to be heard.
I only blamed you for not crying hard enough
Or was it me?
Who did not listen well?
For I did preach in class,
Active listeners are intensive listeners
Non-judgmental and unbiased
However, I was all these
This hectic and routine life
Did shut down my perception
Of everything else around me,
That I,
Selfishly focus on myself
And me alone
Because all that mattered
Was the realization of my goal?
My objectives,
Not yours.
And when you did what you did
I was shaken to the very core
While I try to understand
The whys? Ifs? Buts? Of your implements
The answers to which
Are now buried six feet deep,
Somewhere on a mound,
Near your town.
They say God will never forgive you
For what you've done,
But I shall not be able to forgive myself
For not listening enough.