Love Poem: Within and Without
Andy Sprouse Avatar
Written by: Andy Sprouse

Within and Without

One month.

One gone, spent on escape,
on memory and on loss,
one down, without you -
how many more to go?

How many brothers will I bury,
left behind to carry the weight?
One more down, one more stolen -
how many more to go?

You were first to drink, to flirt,
to speak to a stranger;
first to support, to laugh,
to commit, utterly, to new friends.

You are first in our hearts,
living in pictures on the wall;
first in our thoughts, every day,
your face alive in each tear fallen.

A song asks me a question,
do you know where your heart is?
And all I can think is,
within and without.

Within my chest, within my memories;
within what I hold closest.
Without - in my family, on my sleeves,
with you for so long, and suddenly without.

Each day, more and more I miss you,
and I'm beginning to miss me too.
You're the one the world stole away -
so why am I the one who's the ghost?

These things grow so damned heavy -
these burdens, these tears, these sorrows,
these bracelets, these tattoos, these steps -
how many more to go?