The Space They Left

Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash

The Space They Left

I saved a seat for you so long,
I learned to love the empty space,
And hummed the verses of a song
That time and silence would erase.

You used to be a steady light,
Or so my foolish eyes believed.
But looking back in clearer sight,
I see how deeply I was grieved.

For friendship isn’t hide-and-seek,
Where I am always left to find
A minutes’ scrap within your week,
A fleeting afterthought of mind.

“Too busy,” was the familiar refrain,
A shield you wore to keep at bay
The text, the call, the quiet pain
Of watching bonds just drift away.

So let it be. No anger here.
No bitter words to stain the past.
The view ahead is sharp and clear,
And freedom has arrived at last.

I close the door without a slam,
And walk into a warmer dawn.
I’m remembering just who I am—
I’m letting go, and moving on.

The Cost of Keeping Peace

The lines were drawn in quiet ink,
A map of “yes” and “stay,”
I feared the bridge would surely sink
If I turned the other way.
I held my breath to keep the peace,
A ghost within the room,
Fearing that my own release
Would seal a friendship’s doom.

I thought the cost of being me
Was more than they would pay,
That if I spoke, they’d turn and flee
And leave me in the gray.
But then the weight began to gall,
The “jokes” that left a sting,
The way they made me feel so small
While I gave everything.

So I stood up, a sudden flame,
And watched the masks descend,
I finally spoke my truth, my name,
And waited for the end.
They met my strength with cold disdain,
With anger and with slight,
They saw my joy as their own pain
And walked into the night.

And in the silence left behind,
The truth began to bloom:
The friends I was so scared to find
Were never in that room.
For if a boundary breaks a bond,
The bond was but a thread;
Of people who are truly fond,
There’s nothing left to dread.

If standing up meant losing them,
I lost a heavy chain,
A false and hollow stratagem
That only offered pain.
The ones who leave when you grow tall
Were never yours to keep;
It’s better that the shadows fall
So you can finally leap.

More works by Nancy Ann Creed

MAEVE https://books2read.com/u/m25Ygd
MATTHEW https://books2read.com/u/bzNZYj
JUSTIN https://books2read.com/u/mBKzLZ
MAURELLE https://books2read.com/u/bzN19D
ANNBELLE https://books2read.com/u/bWqEkx
Carillon https://books2read.com/u/38anZV