Quiet Truths: The Aftermath

Tonight, I whisper the quiet truths,  

the ones I've buried beneath forgiving smiles,  

the ones that have festered in silence,  

like wounds that never quite heal.  

The moon hangs above me, cold and knowing,  

its pale light untouched by the bitterness in my heart.  

I remember how you promised,  

how you spoke words like threads of gold,  

each one slipping through my fingers,  

but I clung to them, believing in what you said.  

And each time you lied,  

each time you strayed from us,  

I forgave, for love is blind, or so I thought.  

But tonight, I can no longer pretend.  

I can no longer swallow the poison you served me  

with your soft lies and sweet apologies.  

You told me once that you loved me,  

but I am not sure I ever truly felt it,  

not the love that stays,  

not the love that heals.  

How many times must I forgive?  

How many times must I swallow your words  

when they mean nothing more than empty air?  

Each apology, each tear,  

it’s the same cycle,

a rhythm I’ve grown tired of dancing to.  

I gave you all the pieces of me,

the parts I never gave to anyone else,  

the parts I thought only you would cherish.  

But you broke them,  

and then smiled as if you hadn't.  

And I, foolishly, believed that love was enough  

to mend what was shattered.  

But now, I stand in the ruins of us,  

and I wonder,

did you ever love me, or was I just a convenience?  

A warm place to rest when you were cold?  

A face to look at when you needed someone to say,  

I forgive you?

You said you were sorry,  

and I forgave you.  

You promised you’d change,  

and I believed you.  

But the truth is,  

the lies have piled up like bricks,  

and I can no longer build anything from them.  

Tonight, I can’t lie to myself anymore.  

I can’t keep pretending I don’t feel the ache,  

the one that comes from loving someone  

who doesn’t know how to love back.  

I can’t keep forgiving  

when you haven’t even earned the chance.  

So, I let go tonight,  

the hardest thing I’ve ever done,  

but the only thing left for me to do.  

For even love has its limits,  

and mine have been crossed too many times.  

I whisper the quiet truths now,

that I loved you,  

and maybe I still do,  

but love isn’t enough when it's built on lies.  

And I don’t know if you ever truly loved me,  

or if you even know how to love at all.  

Tonight, I whisper the quiet truths;

that I cannot forgive again,  

that I can no longer wait for something that may never come.  

And I stand here, broken,  

but somehow, finally free.

The Pen That Never Runs Dry

Sip & Support