General Poetry posted March 24, 2025

Exceptional

This work has reached the exceptional level

A poem about betrayal

You Would Know

by Jessica Wheeler

You’ll always have the years

we spent in fields of clover,

exploring worlds uncharted, moon to sun.

And I will not forget

your shield against the fury,

the guard of your protection, when I’d run.

You loved me at my worst

while I was still becoming,

and offered me a comfort not yet known.

Yet still, I let us fray;

I pulled till we unraveled,

when not a thread was false, or wrongly sewn.

I look to clear your view,

provide your walls a window,

and pull you from the cell that I built well.

I made no choice to leap;

the pull defied resistance.

Despite my careful treading, though, I fell.

In silence, I would break

to fix what I have broken,

and carry on, forgotten in my guilt.

For I know who I am

Today, what keeps me standing,

and all the many parts of me, you built.

If I could take it back,

unbreak the heart you gave me,

I’d wipe away the mem’ry of my name.

I’d place it at your feet,

then fall apart before you,

I'd bear the hollow void and walk with shame.

But I am not equipped

to seal the cracks you walk on,

or pave the stones beneath you, laid by me.

These words cannot erase

the scars of my betrayal;

the pages can’t be torn, but hear my plea.

I own what I have done;

I do not seek your pardon.

And though I hold remorse, I won’t regret.

The mark of you and me,

the firsts in fields of clover,

and how my story changed the day we met.

I only wish to take

the weight of what you shoulder,

and wear it as my own so you could go.

If you could find the path

beyond the plans I’ve tainted,

then all I’ve left unanswered, you would know.

Please take my final word,

a token from the wreckage.

And know this promise sworn, I’ll not betray.

One day the wind will pull;

you’ll fall without resistance,

and I’ll be just a stop along your way.

Write A Review

Betrayal Poetry Contest contest entry

Recognized

#9
March
2025

Sometimes, the deepest pain is not in being betrayed, but in learning that we are capable of causing pain. The weight of this understanding can be far heavier than any heartbreak we experience. To betray someone we care about is to fracture a part of ourselves. Love is tricky; it comes in many forms, can shift unexpectedly, and, in some cases, can be outgrown. This piece was inspired by that truth, a lesson I learned many years ago. It reflects the aftermath of my betrayal and all I should have said back then when I hurt someone who deserved so much better.

Pays one point and 2 member cents.

Artwork by jenjae76 at FanArtReview.com

You need to login or register to write reviews. It's quick! We only ask four questions to new members.

A poem about betrayal

You Would Know

by Jessica Wheeler

Browse Now