The least you could have done was make me hate you
Give me a reason to curse at your name
A reason to get angry and say things i'll regret

You couldn't have left me with anger or resentment
No, what you did was worse than a thousand paper cuts
Worse than wearing wet socks after getting caught in the rain
And far worse than sticking a hand in an open flame

You left me with a heart full of love, desire and longing
You left me with all this wanting and wishing
With daydreams that can never and will never be
Like a diamond hanging on a rope right in front of me
On a cliff, just out of reach with a little note that says
'This is not for you, but nice attempt'

You walked away but you took nothing with you
You didn't take my feelings away
You left them with me and for that I wish I could hate you
Hate you for leaving me with this love I have no right to feel
Hate you for the golden outlines your footprints left behind
Hate you for the final farewell I didn't want to hear
But it's not your fault that I can't let go of these pieces of you

It's all because you were mine
You were my favorite gem
And our love was a blossoming garden

'Were' and 'Was'
Such ugly words

Every time I open up my camera gallery
My eyes stop on the folder with your name
Why are you so hard to erase?
My finger hovers above 'delete'
But I never follow through

I still walk around with thoughts of you
'Wouldn't it be fun if he were here?'
I'll think and then recall
That I can't daydream about you and me anymore
And what really breaks my heart
Is thinking of the written words you never saw

I almost want to curse at you for not breaking my heart
Because your kindness is the worst part
How do you let go of something good for you?
How do you forget the smiles that they gave you?
How do you expect me to cope with all these pieces of you?

Little bird, little bird
Always on my mind
Little bird, little bird
How could I make you mine?

You made a nest inside my heart
Where you could rest your head
and feel at home
But you spread your wings one day
and flew away
Soaring high, so gleefully free
And when you looked back for me-
I guess you flew too far away

Little bird, oh little bird
Won't you find your way back to me?
Little bird, little bird
Don't you hear me calling out your name?
Little bird, oh little bird
I guess it's time I let you go
You can't soar inside a cage
It will only bring you down

So fly high little bird, fly high
Chase those dreams only you can see
Spread those wings, I've set you free
Fly high little bird, little bird fly high
Fly high little bird, little bird fly high

I can't keep you in my heart
A caverns not fit for a lark
You can't keep singing in the dark
But I can see you in my dreams
and together we'll fly
Till then

Fly high little bird, fly high
Reach for those diamonds in the sky
Close your eyes and feel the light
Fly high little bird, little bird fly high
Fly high little bird, little bird fly high

May nothing bring you down again

When I let you go
It felt like a hurricane trailed through my body
As if my heart had a cave-in

You said you were glad I was being mature about it
I know you were thankful for the sacrifice
And I know you needed time to fix your health

But I wasn't mature at all
Behind the apathy and silence
Behind the sweetness and indifference
I was watching acres of flowers wilt before me

All I could do was watch our garden die
Even though you never sprayed any pesticide
And there was no lack of water
No lack of sunshine or warmth
There was nothing wrong-
It was only the remnants of shattered hope that poisoned the soil and rotted the roots

I loved you like a melody loves to be sung
Like a poem loves to be read
Or how a performer loves the spotlight

I treasured you like a person treasures their first love
Like a dragon treasures it's jewels
Or how Yin treasures Yang

I felt safe with you like a child in their mothers arms
Like a Princess feels safe with her Knight
Or how a caterpillar feels safe inside it's chrysalis

I've missed you the way the sea misses the shore
The way a flower misses spring
Or how a caged lion misses the Savannah

I long for you like a droughted land longs for rain
Like an idea longs for creation
Or how pain longs for release

I fell for you like a raindrop from the sky
Like a tear from the eye
Or how a snowflake melts into a warm palm

And I'd still silence your storms
Make the world wait for you
Hold your hand till you feel fine
Change the darkness into a blinding dawn
Bloom a rose in the snow

But I walk away from you like a Knight swears an oath
Like a King protects his country
Or how a poor mother gives her child away

I crumble for you like a Kingdom turned to ash
Like a child under pressure
Or how sand falls through an hourglass

I sacrifice for you, like a lover for their beloved

She's a reflection of those who survived great pains
Shes what every person who's ever been hurt wishes they could have turned into
Turned their pain and bitterness into redemption and possibility as she did
Transformed their trauma and loss into kindness and dreams
But not everyone has a fairy godmother
Not everyone can hum and smile away the hurt as she does
But she smiles as if she didn't cry herself to sleep every night
As if she didn't wish upon every star to save her
As if she didn't beg her dreams to stay just a moment longer
As if her loneliness didn't drive her to madness as the mice and birds began to feel like family

But she gave them hope in ways no one else could
Hope that one day they can smile away every trace of a tormented past
Hope that one day poets will write sonnets in their name
Hope, it was her gift to the broken

I've never loved the story of Cinderella
She's a girl who is know for her courage and kindness
But I think she mistook courage for defeat

Courage is fighting for what you deserve, for what is right and just no matter what stands in your way
But she never did any of that
She slaved away for a decade, working her hands to the bone
Covered herself head to toe in soot like a cloak of safety
And she never complained

That was her version of courage
Accepting pain to avoid the discomfort or disruption of others by sacrificing herself
This is not courage, this is weakness

Cinderella should have thrown down her broom
Stood with her head high and if a hand were raised to her let her raise a hand back
Let her speak with defiance and justice
But Cinderella never did such a thing
She worked herself day in day out
And cried when the possibility of freedom slipped away

Cinderella was not the hero of of her own story
She was a girl waiting to be saved
She had no courage in her, only fear and helplessness
She may have been kind, but save herself she did not