[Poem] 8 Minutes by Santino Jose F. Suarez

One: listen to me

I just want to be set free

Can’t keep up with what I’ve been longing to say

Because all my suppressed thoughts and feelings come back everyday

Two: too much on my mind

Lost in life because everything became intertwined

Tried my best to overcome what I fear

But nothing became clear

Three: I’m thinning out,
Wearing calm like a practiced doubt.
I say that I’m fine, I play it okay,
Even when meaning drifts the other way.

Four: count down, let me breathe,
Should I cry or shout? Whatever I do, just don’t leave
I know I’m not easy, I come undone,
But I’m tired of feeling like I’m too much for someone.

Five: give me a second,
Before everything tips past the edge I’m protecting.
Too many currents I’m caught between,
Turning a life into something unseen.

Six: let us sit in the meantime

Because I might end up regretting for a lifetime

No, I am not pushing you away,

But I am afraid that you will not find any reason to stay

Seven: something like peace,
A pause where the noise finally starts to release.
Not fixed, not whole, but lighter somehow,
Grateful for you being here, right now.

Eight: thank you

For being physically and emotionally there,

For helping me out of kindness and not pushing me away, and

For giving me hope that I could feel better someday

It wasn’t long, but it mattered more
Than most of the silence I’ve held before.
Like something unseen said, slow down, breathe,
In a life that keeps rushing ahead of me.

I almost gave in, almost let go,
But you were a presence I didn’t outgrow.
Time and attention; quiet, sincere,
Reminded me someone was actually here.

Close enough just to soften the air,
Close enough to feel someone care.
For a moment, I thought I was lost completely,
Now I know I’m not gone so easily.

So wait just a while as I steady my feet,
I’m learning to rest in the space we meet.

Eight minutes is all I need.