The Other Woe

Your eyes ignited,

And I was a spectator.

I waited for them to rove for me,

But only silence.

Conversations resumed

From some unknown origin,

But I was lost,

And left behind.

I threw a fit

For your attention,

But resentments steeped

Cooled your eyes.

I was a child, a lesser one,

Sent home to think

Of what I’d done, or couldn’t do,

Of all my insufficiencies,

And the ways I’d never deserve you.