I Watched You Crumble

There are moments when words become useless...

AI Artwork

I Watched You Crumble

a collapsed man in a ball of misery;

 curled into oblivion

 clutching the bedclothes in desperation.

 The ball began to rock, quiver,

 and then,

                the keening began.

 I heard the sound which scathed my ears,

 smashed into my wincing mind,

 mangled my face with concerned distress.

 The sound constricted my throat into a searing lump

 preventing me from swallowing;

 it seeped from my eyes in empathy;

 constricted and burned in my throat.

 It shredded my heart.

 I heard the sound,

 an unbearable sound

 slicing through the night of death.

 I watched you crumble...

 helplessly

 and hopelessly inadequate,

 I watched you cry.

Inspiration

I wrote this poem after witnessing someone I was living with lose his father. There are moments in life when there is simply nothing you can do except stand beside another person's grief. This poem is my attempt to capture what that felt like.

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© Catherine Knee 2026. All rights reserved.

AI Declaration

AI was used solely to create the accompanying artwork.
No AI was used in the writing of this poem.

I Watched You Crumble is a contemporary poem by Catherine Knee exploring grief, bereavement, helplessness, empathy and the emotional impact of witnessing profound loss.