A Hard Parting

I didn’t think I’d be affected,

I thought I could just be aware,

When she left me for another man

I thought I could sit and stare,

Could sit and stare as he held her hand

Could stare as he touched her knee,

And not be moved when another man

Roamed over my territory.

We’d been together forever

But things had fallen apart,

There’d been a change in the weather

A canker, aimed at the heart,

The words we said became twisted,

We fired our arrows of pain,

And all our wrongs became listed

Our pleas were met with disdain.

I slept alone in the parlour,

She slept alone in the bed,

And life itself became harder

Despite that little was said,

She started seeing her friends alone

While I got on with my life,

A lonely desert became our home

No place for husband or wife.

And that was when she had met him,

The man who would take my place,

She laughed with him as she'd laughed with me

Back when, in my memory’s trace,

The pain would hit as I’d sit and stare

When she balanced, and sat on his knee,

While running her fingers through his hair,

She never did that with me!

She’d never done that, or a dozen things

That she suddenly started to do, 

But like a bird that had found new wings

She suddenly woke, and flew,

That’s when I woke to the simple truth

That she’d never been right for me,

I walked away from the pain that day

And said, ‘I’m setting you free!’

David Lewis Paget

Reviews

[Jazique]

That was wonderful. A lovely poem describing a couple that thought they were once in love. Everything seemed to unravel though but, it was for the better. He realized she could be someone else, someone more loving as long as it was with someone else. Anyways great job the poem seemed to sum up the phrase at the end "If you love something then let if free."

[A Soap Mess Stories]

What's the old saying about "setting it free"? Sometimes you just have to set someone free to find out if you're truly destined to be together or move on. Excellent tale.

[Helen Crutchett]

A stinging and painful write mixed with regret, but finally being free. Good job David!

H.

[mae23]

Really beautiful. I love "But like a bird that had found new wings - She suddenly woke, and flew"

[Coyote Poetry]

Hard to learn and accept. But we must.
"That’s when I woke to the simple truth
That she’d never been right for me,
I walked away from the pain that day
And said, ‘I’m setting you free!’"
The above lines. True wisdom shared. Thank you David for sharing the amazing poetry.
Coyote

[Valentine]

Strong write, makes me wonder if it is truth or fiction. We can't make others love us and we do not choose who our heart longs for, it just happens. Valentine