Tell Me

by Anne Stockholm
(London, UK)

Tell me, do you really know
how it feels to drown stranded on shore?
Can you tell me if you understand
how it feels to fall stuck on land?

Tell me, have you ever wondered
how it is to scream if you're a mime?
Tell me how to embrace the world
without crossing that certain line?

Tell me if you ever wondered
how it really feels to dance in the rain?
Tell me how is it any different
from getting soaked in tears of pain?

Tell me, please, how we hesitate
or why we fear our safest desire?
Yet when it comes to the danger
We're the first to crash in the fire?

Can you tell me what is life
if you died a thousand times?
Can you tell me what is healing
if you can't let go of the knife?

Tell me how it is to stay alive
when you suffocate with every breath
Please tell me what is holding on
if you really have nothing left?

Tell me if you really know the difference
between fixing a heart and fixing a soul?
Or better yet, would you know how to start
if the bigger damage is your own?

Have you ever fallen asleep
while tracing the tracks of your tears?
Have you stood over thin ice
waiting for the cracks to appear?

Tell me, can you really imagine
how it is to die after you're buried
6 feet deep and underground
with all your burdens carried?