Array ( [sid] => 157876 [catid] => 1 [aid] => mick [title] => The Man Upstairs [time] => 2010-03-02 14:23:12 [hometext] => [bodytext] => We knew him once, long ago when times were different;
when happiness was our stated purpose,
when sharing life was our intention and loving was our goal,
when laughter was our amusement and playing our reward for work,
when suffering was shared to balance the loads we carried
and the joy we created was the product of our love.

Then one began to leave us, slowly so that we barely noticed,
gradually, leaving our hearts before he left our minds.
A slow retreat that caused sadness, anger and confusion
for none of us knew why.

We loved him, we said. He loved us he said.
Don’t leave us, we said. I won’t leave you, he said,
but he did, though he didn’t and we did, but we didn’t
and he’s gone though he isn’t and can’t come back
for he’s never really left.

You see, he lives upstairs now, and has for years,
never seeing us nor us seeing him.
We live in distant worlds separated by a wooden stairway.
Our lives on separate tracks never coming close enough to collide;
further from each other than if we were continents apart.

We wish for the other - the one he was before the one he became.
We wish for a time that’s long since past and will never come again.
We wish for a wish that would somehow come true
and, make him one of us again.
Yet we know in our hearts that a man can’t be made
into someone he isn’t, by wishing.
[comments] => 1 [counter] => 170 [topic] => 52 [informant] => Greenpostit [notes] => [ihome] => 0 [alanguage] => english [acomm] => 0 [haspoll] => 0 [pollID] => 0 [score] => 5 [ratings] => 1 [editpoem] => 1 [associated] => [topicname] => goodbyepoetry ) Your Poetry Dot Com - The Man Upstairs


The Man Upstairs
Date: Tuesday, 2nd March 2010 @ 02:23:12 PM AEST
Topic: Sad Poetry

Contributed By: Greenpostit
We knew him once, long ago when times were different;
when happiness was our stated purpose,
when sharing life was our intention and loving was our goal,
when laughter was our amusement and playing our reward for work,
when suffering was shared to balance the loads we carried
and the joy we created was the product of our love.

Then one began to leave us, slowly so that we barely noticed,
gradually, leaving our hearts before he left our minds.
A slow retreat that caused sadness, anger and confusion
for none of us knew why.

We loved him, we said. He loved us he said.
Don’t leave us, we said. I won’t leave you, he said,
but he did, though he didn’t and we did, but we didn’t
and he’s gone though he isn’t and can’t come back
for he’s never really left.

You see, he lives upstairs now, and has for years,
never seeing us nor us seeing him.
We live in distant worlds separated by a wooden stairway.
Our lives on separate tracks never coming close enough to collide;
further from each other than if we were continents apart.

We wish for the other - the one he was before the one he became.
We wish for a time that’s long since past and will never come again.
We wish for a wish that would somehow come true
and, make him one of us again.
Yet we know in our hearts that a man can’t be made
into someone he isn’t, by wishing.


This poem is Copyright © Greenpostit


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