Forgetting You
Pictures of your smile,
coming and going —
Like flashbacks in my mind,
constantly flowing.
Sometimes, I think back
to the warmth we once knew.
Other times, the cold hard truth
comes breaking through.
The way time would stop —
but I didn’t understand.
To stand in the past
would mean treating you cold,
as a stranger,
when there was nothing to hold.
To stand in the present,
I’d call you a friend,
but something deeper,
I couldn’t comprehend.
To stand in the future,
I’d see you as more:
A boyfriend,
a hope,
I couldn’t ignore.
Yet how could I treat you
like someone unknown,
when you were much more —
my heart had shown?
My mistake was to play your little game.
Of girl or friend, while I took the blame.
Now I drift through a quieter place,
where pieces of love have left only a trace.
Just enough of a trace to let me know:
The best thing for me to do is to let go.
Some days are soft —
not great, not bad —
just moments of peace
mixed in with the sad.
Reality knocks me on my ass
in a subtle disguise —
never too cruel,
but it dims the skies.
Today was quiet —
not heavy, not loud.
No queasiness or knot in my chest,
no thundercloud.
I walked through the hours
without your name,
and not once did it hurt
quite the same.
Relief washes over.
I now understand:
This is something
I hold in my hand.
It’s in my power.
In my control —
a steady path,
a clearer goal.
I must stay focused,
keep my stride,
not let distractions pull me aside.
For every step that I take,
I must be sure
that my path is steady and secure.
A song, a place, a passing face,
triggered a memory —
but left no trace.
No tears welled up,
no aching scream.
Just a distant memory,
more like a dream.
I used to beg the silence to speak,
to tell me your thoughts —
the answers I’d constantly seek.
Now I find peace in the not knowing,
in trusting my path and slowly growing.
I’m breathing again,
slow and light —
no longer drowning
in sleepless nights.
There’s space in my mind,
no fogginess.
It is amazingly clear and wide.
Room for my thoughts, myself, with nothing to hide.
Here’s to the ones who’ve stayed beside me,
who’ve shown up with dedication —
to my career, my health,
and my writing aspirations.
To friends and family
who stand by my side —
their love, a current, I use to fuel my ride.
Step by step, I’m walking ahead,
no longer haunted
by things you never said.
Writing it out, line after line —
healing through verses,
in rhythm, in time.
Maybe I’m not entirely free, not yet.
But the tears have paused, and that’s a step.
I still feel you lingering quietly in me —
but now I can breathe, and just let it be.
