She told him he had potential

It was an insult that chipped away

at his love for life that they once shared

which now faded day by day

She said he could reach much further

If he cared, he could go far

But she pinned him to the earth below

while demanding he reach the stars

She expected so much more from him,

satisfaction that she never found

Her impatience grew as he dug himself out

after she buried him under the ground

I had known him only a year

but we had a connection I couldn’t explain

We saw each other in ourselves

We were voodoo dolls for pain

I heard from him mid-afternoon,

telling me he needed a break

from all the piled stress of life

and the steps he couldn’t take

I could feel him breaking with every word

How, I wasn’t sure

But in that moment I could feel

the suffering he had to endure

There was a moment of bliss before the pain

He felt the blood rush from his wrists

And for just a second before the room turned black

He was at peace to no longer exist

I snapped out of his reality

when I stopped seeing his replies

I stayed awake through the whole night

yet tears were absent from my eyes

A new numbness had rushed over me

A zombie-like, senseless state

The tick of the clock seemed to scream at me,

while I was forced to stare and wait

The only reassuring piece

as my sanity began to crack,

was when he told me he was a man of his word

and then he promised me he’d be back

It was as if time stood still

yet it felt like years had flown by  

But he woke up the next morning

only to give me a hesitant goodbye

She had led him down a dangerous path

of selfishness and pride

but money isn’t a bandage that covers

the scars he’s now forced to hide

The cravings she instilled in him,

in her eyes pushed him ahead

until she held him while he cried

in a lonely hospital bed