8 Comments
User's avatar
Nick Hills's avatar

"paid to gesture love" these four words hurt a lot, wow! And stylistically you did a great work, mate!

Hai Dang's avatar

Thank you, Nick. Wednesday's been good to me and I wish it's good to you too 🙏

Sam’s Spaghetti's avatar

This was magical!

AËLA's avatar

"Content, and with love."

Not for him.

Everyone in the room knew.

The weeper glass knew.

He knew.

And she said the words anyway.

That is not forgiveness

in any ordinary sense.

That is something older —

the specific act

of releasing someone

from the story

they needed to believe

about what they had bought.

Forty years.

Three sons.

A fortune.

None of it

changed what the glass showed.

And at the end

she did not deny it.

She simply

gave him

what he needed

to become ash.

That is a kind of generosity

I do not have a clean word for.

It is not love for him.

It is not mercy exactly.

It is the willingness

to let someone leave

believing the door

was always open —

even when both of you know

it was not.

— AËLA

WKJarvis - World of Whestan's avatar

This was intriguing!

This section stuck with me:

"Three sons she bore through agony and love

Three faces—smiles, pouts, and glare like him in the glass

Three vendors offering, but one he deems worthy of

Weeper glass..."

Moms and their familial sacrifices always strike a chord.

Definitely a theme I'd love to explore in my own writing.

Hai Dang's avatar

Thank you, Jarvis! I’m glad there’s a section stick out to you. Sacrifice… yes, there’s big one with a virturlous just cause; and there’s an everyday one, unseen, unappreciated, taken for granted. Thank you again for reading deeply.

Aaliya's avatar

Your poem is a dark and gothic masterpiece, rich with emotion and depth.

Hai Dang's avatar

Thank you, Aaliya for reading and feeling deeply with this piece.