“I love you”
You just couldn’t love yourself until someone else loved you too
So it’s over
Your storms have passed and our ship is lost without you, my precious cargo
You will not teach me to mourn!
To make toasts each night to empty bottles. To fill silences with inaudible words.
“How are you?”
You were busy, I was busy. We both had lives to get back to
Then came goodbye.
Our chats remember the things you promised weren’t a big deal
You will not teach me to stare!
To clear my throat with nothing to say. To recite apologies I won’t get to give
You were cutting
It had always been too hot for your long sleeve sweaters
Lain to rest
With pale skin you once treated like cadaver
You will not teach me to cry!
To wipe blurry eyes. To aggressively mumble “leave me alone” to the living
“I’m so sorry”
You made mistakes, you weren’t one. It was never that deep!
“It’s my fault!”
If I’d aired your dirty laundry to someone helpful, we wouldn’t be in black
You will not teach me to regret!
To bookmark avoidable pain and open those chapters ever so often
“I miss you…”
Everything’s moved on but some things aren’t the same anymore
“This is hard.”
I’ve tried to stop me from becoming you but I’ve hurt myself too
Why didn’t you teach me to live?
To forgive myself. To acknowledge my failing health; to seek the help I need
The Hurt and the Who was originally published in Sole Seasonings on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.