Half Of My Soul Poem by Ariel ~

Half of my soul is leaving.
Willy … I don’t want you
To go.
I don’t mind change,
Even in my friends,
As long as they don’t leave me.
One by one …
They are going.
And I can’t stop them,
Although I want to.
I can’t hold them back,
Retarding their growth,
For that would hurt them.
But their leaving is hurting me,
Leaving me without their strength.
They taught me that
I can’t make it on my own,
That it was okay to borrow strength
To open up, to share,
Not to trust myself alone
To carry the world’s cares.
Especially you,
Willy Wippor Willow, Jr.
You made me talk, cry,
To show that, yes, I have feelings.
And then, at the right time,
The right words.
And you taught me to laugh.

You’ve always been there
Even when I didn’t want you to be.
Wanting to talk about any little
Thing, sharing your disappointment
And victories,
And listening and … understanding mine.
You wouldn’t let me be alone
And now that I don’t want to be,
You have no choice but to go.
Am I strong enough, Willy?
Will I remember what you taught me,
To live?
And not worry about life,
Or be afraid of it?
Willy, … I’m afraid,
Afraid of losing touch with friends
And being alone again.
This body is too small to live in,
I’m afraid I’ll suffocate.
You taught me to reach out
To something other than a razorblade.
But when you are gone, Willy,
Who’s hand will be there
As a lifeline?
Who will understand me
As completely as you?
We are so different yet so alike:
Will we survive apart?

(1986)