Sanctuary
No
I offered you sanctuary.
You treated it like a cheap motel.
Spent your days snorting lines of arrogance,
and downing shots of empty promises.
Promises you offered to me,
with shaking hands, in muddied glasses.
And when you walked away,
there was nothing but the echo of your callous laughter,
and no tip for my tears, who were charged with cleaning up the mess you left behind.
*
I offered you a harbour.
A safe place to ride out the storms that crashed through your mind
and flooded your heart with anger.
I gave you a life preserver,
but you tossed it aside
and dragged me into the cold abyss with you.
Kicking and screaming; drowning in your words
until I managed to wrench myself free,
and grab on to that precious life preserver.
*
I offered you peace.
But instead, you chose war.
With chest-puffed bravado, standing on your battlefield.
Screaming boisterously about how powerful you are,
how indestructible you are,
how nobody could take you down.
But when the bullets flew,
when your world of make-believe bravado exploded
like grenades tossed into the foxhole,
you cowered behind my heart and begged for mercy.
You pleaded for sanctuary.
*
So today, once again, I offer that sanctuary.
Sanctuary for the abandoned.
Sanctuary for the defeated,
for the used, the neglected and the utterly exhausted.
Today, I offer sanctuary,
to me.
From you.
About the Creator
Cathy holmes
Canadian family girl with a recently discovered love for writing. Other loves include animals and sports.
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Expert insights and opinions
Arguments were carefully researched and presented
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Off the Book
It ended like every other stupid idea. Badly, and alone. Iβm researching digital confession ethics, he said. A tech ethicist. He gestured at floating data I couldnβt see then pulled out a physical notebook. Actual paper, fountain pen. He held it up like he was showing me scripture.
By Nicky Frankly5 days ago in Fiction
Comments (54)
Those last lines hit so hard! Outstanding work
Stunning and powerful! π
Man! That was a mix of emotions that hit home! GREAT poem!!
Love it...
Wow this is so powerful Cathy!! I love the last few lines "I offer sanctuary to me from you"... took my breath away and was so inspiring! Great work and congratulations on Top Story!!
Nice work I loved it β€οΈπ€ I hope my stories get to the top one day πͺπ
Beautiful. Congratulations on your top story.
Well said π Congrats on TS
Great work! Congratulations on your Top Story,
A well-deserved Top Story, Cathy! I especially loved these lines: βsnorting lines of arrogance, and downing shots of empty promises.β What a powerfully vivid description!
Yayyyyyy you got a Top Story! Congratulations!
Cathy, this is amazing!! You are sooo talented. Every metaphor was on-point. I couldnt stop reading. Great job ππΌ
Nice nice work. Congratulations
Wow, you've been through something here... TS? Yup. π
Amazing analogies and metaphors, brilliant Work and very relatable
Great poem! Well deserved top story!
This reminds me of someone too⦠Terrific coda⦠And congratulations on the Top Story!
Great words, strong and defiant
This felt confrontational and liberating. Well done and congrats, Cathy!
Congratulations on your Top Storyπππ€©ππ€
wonderful
A powerful message poem! Congratulations on this featured top story!
Wow... beautiful narration...I love it ! Congrats on top story ...
Beautiful and so, so powerful, my friend! Congrats on Top Story!! π€β€οΈβ€οΈ So many amazing lines in here. π₯Ή
Congrats on the Top Story, Cathy!β€οΈ