I fell while running

I fell while running, thinking of elsewhere, distracted.
Flies were heavy, slow and black.
Blood flicked as I waved them away.

I held the pain; it was mine.

Changing tack (this is how distraction manifests)
I know one day, elsewhere, your heart will break
as all hearts break.

Your pain will be yours
but not yours alone.
It will not break you; nothing can.

Independence

You hid the hope in cloudy crystal,
like a mosquito in the amber.

You shaped the jewels and clipped them on their chains.
One you put around your neck and one, hard-handed, round mine.

Your hope is independence, I thought you said.
It broke my heart to leave you but now I’m strong.