Poetry by Ellen Clayton

           ​David Prasad CC




Heartbreak Chronicles  
(For Caroline)

When my heart broke 
It was you I fled to
Dragged myself onto a train
to stagger into
your bedroom in a large,
draughty Kent student house 
Your single bed 
I curled up in and wondered
If I’d ever feel love like that again 

It was you who saw the broken pieces of me
Scraps of pale skin scattered on the floor 
You who oh so carefully gathered them up 
Pressed them between the pages of our
favourite book 
Where they’d be safe,
waiting for me
to heal
 
It was you who put me in a black dress
Painted lipstick onto my face 
Told me dancing would make me feel better
It was you who, with glass in my foot,
helped me hobble back to your room
and gently took my phone away
‘Don’t call him, babe. Not now.’

It was you who 
(when my hangover threatened to 
Tear me all apart)
went out in pyjamas and came back with
dodgy Maltesers (chocolate had always been our common ground)
You held me and told me I’d be alright
that I’d be happy again one day 

I will never forget
the way you took the broken, 
weeping edges of me and stitched them together
with your unconditional love
I will always remember how you made space for me
by your side 
Literally figuratively metaphorically 
Just, kindly. ​


​

Ellen Clayton lives in Suffolk, England with her husband and three young children. She is an avid reader and enjoys writing poetry in any spare time she can find. Ellen’s writing often focuses on her experience of motherhood and she began sharing it on social media during the lockdown in early 2021. Her poetry can be found on Instagram @ellen_writes_poems. 

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