How much we are afraid to say what often simply needs to be said. It's an unavoidable fact - the conversations we avoid are the conversations we require the most.   Often we are afraid to face the black-&-white of the spoken truth, often we fear the unpredictability of confrontations.  Maybe, in the past, we've had to face the consequences of a scathing talk, and have now sworn to avoid anything which has the potential to break or hurt, welt or injure.   But subtly, irrevocably, what lies unspoken also changes us as persons, as it does our relationships.   On the surface, a calm descends. The need to avoid conflict overwhelms the need for stark truths. And the elephant sits fat and solid in the room, munching away time, growing fat on what's unspoken.   And by including avoidance in the definition of love, we chip away at truths. We become politer but less honest, we want to confront monsters by pretending they don't exist. In the song of life, we try hard to avoid the discordant note, and thus lose the soul required to give love not only its longevity but its singular breath.   If you liked this poem, consider listening to these other poems on loneliness  -  Old Poems for Old Lovers The Art of the Lonely Good Deed Loneliness (oh these rains) Follow me on Instagram at @sunilgivesup. Get in touch with me on [email protected]   The details of the music used in this episode are as follows - Loneliness by Sayan Mukherjee