"read closely" by r.h. Sin

by M.H.

Note: This post was written by a Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University in the fall of 2017.



“read closely.” by r h Sin is a poem I’ve always found to be therapeutic in my own life. If you’ve read R.h. sin’s books (Whiskey Words & a Shovel I, II, or III) you know that most if not all of his poems seem to be therapeutic. He focuses a lot on life experiences that most people go through. Some of the poems are personal to the author, mentioning names and describing personal experiences, and others are specific but general enough to be relatable to a broad audience. The author writes about love, loss, motivation, inspiration, and through this I find this specific poem “read closely.” therapeutic to its audience.

The poem “read closely.” talks about a toxic relationship and the effects of that relationship. I find this poem to be really relatable not only to myself but I know others who relate to it as well and I’m sure there are many others that feel the same. The author starts the poem by describing the infamous toxic relationship we all relate to, “you miss the person you thought he was/ you’re in love with everything/ he used to be/ you hold on because your love is unconditional”. These first few lines are very relatable and therapeutic to me. I went through a relationship that went the same way as this poem describes so this poem for me was therapeutic. Knowing that I’m not alone in this misery of loving someone who won’t make the effort to love you yet strings you along just enough to stay was comforting. The ability to relate to this poem became therapeutic for me because it made me understand that I wasn’t crazy for staying with my boyfriend at the time because he is the one that trapped me in and I only stayed because I loved him unconditionally.

Towards the end of the poem, more therapeutic elements came about. The second half of the poem gives inspiration and advice to the reader, “life is too short to lose sleep over a living nightmare/ I know you love him but you have to love yourself more/ see, anyone not willing to respect what you feel/ is not worthy of any type of emotional response/ how many more tomorrows will you spend waiting for a man who only deserves a place in your yesterdays”. I found these lines to be extremely inspirational in my own perspective. The author advises the reader that getting out of this type of relationship is the best thing to do and at the same time inspires the reader to believe in themselves and realize their self worth.

Another aspect of this poem that is therapeutic is the way that the author talks about a topic that has the potential to put anyone who has experienced this type of relationship in an uncomfortable place mentally. By this I mean that the poem forces you to either evaluate your current situation or a situation that you’ve already experienced. Bringing myself back into the situation I experienced a little over a year ago made me uncomfortable, but it reminded me that I did the right thing by leaving that relationship. When I first read this poem, I was just starting to get over the toxic relationship I was once in and the entire poem really got to me but the lines that got to me the most and still do today is at the end of the poem, “your future is uncertain because your focus is on your rearview mirror/ you can’t get to where you need to be/ focused on everything that belongs behind you”. The first time I read this I burst into tears. I realized all the time I wasted on that relationship, and as my tears subsided I realized that my future is so much brighter without him in my life. So the poem brought me to an uncomfortable place by bringing up old memories like all the nights I aimlessly waited for his replies and all the times he let me down, but it forced me to realize how much better off I am without him.

All of these examples are therapeutic because they have the potential to help someone get over or overcome a bad experience and helps to create a situation that is more bearable. Overall “read closely.” by r h Sin is a poem that I find therapeutic by the way it inspires and advises the reader and also how it is relatable and forces the reader into an uncomfortable place of realization that at the end of the day is helpful in recovering from the toxic relationship that person is in currently or was in the past.

read closely.

 you miss the person you thought he was
you’re in love with everything
he used to be
you hold on because your love is unconditional
you’re up, thinking about him
wanting his attention
maybe a text, a call, maybe you just want to lay up and cuddle
but he’s always doing this
he’s rarely around and it hurts
that’s what keeps you up at night
you’re hurting right now and he’s probably asleep
understand this
life is too short to lose sleep over a living nightmare
I know you love him but you have to love yourself more
see, anyone not willing to respect what you feel
is not worthy of any type of emotional response
how many tomorrows will you spend waiting for a man who only deserves a place in your yesterdays
your future is uncertain because your focus is on your rearview mirror
you can’t get to where you need to be
focused on everything that belongs behind you

r.h. Sin
Whiskey Words & a Shovel II