Love Poem: Silent Reckoning
Mpho Leteng Avatar
Written by: Mpho Leteng

Silent Reckoning

I hate to hear your silent voice,  
a whisper caught in the hollow of my chest,  
where echoes of unspoken words linger,  
like shadows dancing in the fading light.  
I hate to know that this is what love really does,  
a tender trap, a gentle snare,  
binding my heart with threads of longing,  
while silence stretches like an infinite horizon,  
each moment a reminder of what’s unsaid.

If I had not set my foot here,  
in this landscape of uncharted feelings,  
I would not mind the steep,  
the jagged cliffs of uncertainty,  
the abyss yawning wide beneath my soul.  
But I have, oh, I have been hurled  
into the deep—  
where the waters churn with unvoiced fears,  
where love's currents pull and twist,  
dragging me under, gasping for breath.

I cannot enjoy the tranquil,  
the calm that settles after the storm,  
to speak without moving my lips anymore—  
it’s a bittersweet paradox,  
a language woven in the fabric of silence,  
where every glance, every sigh,  
carries a weight too heavy to bear.  
I am caught in this odd indulgence,  
this delicate dance of the unsaid,  
where words slip through my fingers,  
like grains of sand,  
and all that remains is the ache of knowing.

I hate this silence,  
this stillness that screams louder than thunder,  
each heartbeat a reminder,  
each breath a question unanswered.  
Yet here I stand,  
drenched in the heavy fog of our unspoken truths,  
searching for the light that flickers  
in the depths of your quiet gaze,  
wondering if love is meant to be a roar or a whisper,  
a wild tempest or a soothing lullaby.