In Great Sadness (Poetry - Non-rhyming)

Why must there be
So much pain?
I know others have asked
In words that speak
So much more than mine,
But still I want to know.
I cannot love
Except with the most guarded phrases
And careful touches
Afraid to place too much
Upon those who are
As sensitive to love as I,
Bare nerves, frayed and worn
From caring so much
And feeling with more than
Simply five senses.
So I love the few
Who feel as much pain as I do
Because I know their limits:
They are equal to my own.
Too much love
And we all break and run
To far corners
Where we can retire, alone
To fill with unshed tears
The hollow that holds what is left of our hearts.
We cannot cry for ourselves-
That feeling of pity
Is long gone,
Leaving only resignation,
And the fear of love
And worse, the fear of not being loved
Again.

You speak to me of your fears
Of not finding love,
And of not being able to accept
What you have found.
I can feel you reaching
To me, wanting to be loved
But not being able
To risk exposing yourself.
I move,
And in a motion we join
Your head coming to rest wearily
On my breast.
I brush your soft hair
From your forehead
Feeling for all the world
Like a mother comforting
A frightened, lonely child.
Tears well in my eyes
For you, that you find yourself
In the pain I have
Been living with,
And would have spared you,
Had I only known how.
I hold you close, and speak softly
And we share a love that neither of us will name
For fear it will turn the same
As all the others.