Indifference

Indifference sucks the will out of a relationship like a sponge absorbs water. This poem explores indifference...

Relationships are hard work. What makes them even more challenging is that we almost always bring our emotional and mental baggage with us into our relationships. This adds another dimension of complexity that can often lead to sadness and heartbreak. This year, my partner and I will be celebrating 30 years of marriage. We run the course of good and bad but fortunately neither of us has ever been indifferent to the challenges that we faced throughout the years. Indifference sucks the will out of a relationship like a sponge absorbs water and it is, in my opinion, almost always the beginning of the end.

Sitting in his cone of silence refusing to engage
He feels that if he tries to talk, he might become enraged
Better focus emotions inward, sitting silently
Let her hurtful words flow over as he sits patiently

Her hurtful screams echo loudly throughout the entire house
The only time he listens is when she begins to shout
Veins pop around her neck as her voice continues to rise
But he sits there in silence and refuses to reply

A blank look upon his face in a middle-distance stare
How did he come to wanting to be anywhere but here
He tries to drown out the shouting, humming inside his mind
Her voice breaks in violently and all seems misaligned

"God, if only he would reply, if he would just react"
Instead, of sitting silently, not even eye contact
What is the thing that I must do make him appreciate
I can handle anything it's the aloofness that I hate

She reminds him of his mother, screaming 'til she was spent
And so, he turtled up 'til she was done with her torment
Absolutely he loved his mother, as he loves his wife
He was just so damn tired of all the screaming and the strife

Will finally break the cycle and get back to the source
Or will the spiral continue and lead to a divorce
Will there a good ending or a happy ever after
Or will this all end in a terrible disaster

Bio: Brian Sankarsingh is a Trinidadian-born Canadian immigrant who moved to Canada in the 1980s. He describes himself as an accidental poet, with a passion for advocacy and a penchant for prose, an unapologetic style, he offers his poetry as social and political commentary.