Don't Tell Me
Poem by Aishat Toye
Aishat Toye’s poem captures the pain of hollow promises and love that doesn’t last. The speaker resists empty words and fleeting affection, longing for something real while struggling against the illusion of comfort.
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Don’t tell me you love me
Or am I your world
Don’t feed me with words
Till I’m full yet still yearn for more
Don’t hold me tight
Till your embrace becomes my home
Don’t pour your promises into my cup
Leaving me to drown as it overflows
Don’t start the walk hand in hand
Then wander off leaving me lost in your wake
Don’t hold the torch to light the way
Then flicker it out when darkness swallows me
Don’t tell me to wait for you
Because I’ll hold my breath
Even when my lungs despair
Not a whiff will escape
Don’t tell me to move on
Because I’ll always keep searching
For just a glimpse of you
In every fleeting soul I meet
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Aishat is a lover of books and poetry who finds comfort in words as a form of escape. She writes with the hope that others might relate to her poems or find solace in them.
That resonates. I especially liked the line, "Till your embrace becomes my home". You put into poetic words what love -- and loss thereof -- is about.