Bleed, Bleeding, Bled
A poem about a bad game of hide-and-seek
![](https://res.cloudinary.com/jerrick/image/upload/d_642250b563292b35f27461a7.png,f_jpg,fl_progressive,q_auto,w_1024/665e243caa588e001d2f6443.jpg)
We played hide-and-seek as animals,
Ducking between trees with feral growls
And crawling across the sharp forest floor
Until our splintered palms bled.
You went to sleep in the river
And I stained my keys red.
.
You didn't come back the next morning,
But it was a part of the game.
A hide-and-seek victory
That stretched and stretched and stretched.
I didn't like looking,
You were lost.
.
But my hands kept bleeding from the search.
The things under the rocks bit me,
Thorns sliced my hands,
And soon without really knowing how,
I was lost to the dirt of once familiar
Now hopelessly foreign lands.
.
And the blood on the keys kept flowing,
Because I could not find you in our forests
No matter how much I sought you out.
So I turned to my veins,
The things that ripped and tore and bled
When we crept through the brush like monsters.
.
I had to find you somewhere,
If not in the trees then maybe in me.
You were so good at hiding
That you must have slipped inside of me
When I wasn't looking that day.
So now I have to bleed you out.
.
Smoke out your presence from my veins
Like you are a nest of bees.
You are constantly buzzing in my thoughts.
I have to dig you out of me
And drop you to the table like a trophy
Because I cannot lose, I cannot lose you.
About the Creator
Silver Serpent Books
Writer. Interested in all the rocks people have forgotten to turn over. There are whole worlds under there, you know. Dark ones too, even better.
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Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Comments (6)
The things that ripped and tore and bled - - I actually winced! Excellent stuff!
this was intense and wonderfully put together!
Oh wow, this was intense!! Your work always touches me on such a deep level. Incredibly done! 💌♥
This was so intense, poignant, emotional and relatable. Loved it so much!
The consistent thread of losing, loss, blood, and hiding created quite the atmospheric tension that thickened so poetically! Stunning work, Silver!
Amazing work as always!! I loved your word choice!