They say that you never know what you have until it’s gone,
But what do they know about loss?
What do they know about being blind to the blessings whilst you’re drowning in your own selfishness and greed?

He was a beacon of light in a valley of despair and darkness,
Illuminating her jagged path to success and happiness,
Whilst draining the light inside of himself that kept him afloat.

The voices in her head told her to take what she needed,
Without a second thought to how it affected those around her,
Even if it meant breaking the heart of the only person who could ever love her without
condition.

She was on a road to self-combustion and destruction,
Falling down the rabbit hole faster than Alice,
Whilst dragging him down with her against his will.

She damaged him, chipping away at his heart whilst continuing to take,
Until one day she pushed him to the edge and he toppled,
His lifeless body drained of everything that was keeping him human.

Without her, he began to thrive again,
Slowly re-growing his roots and finding himself,
Finding the person he used to be before her.

Now she’s broken and alone for she left the person who loved her,
The person who bent over backwards in order to support her,
But she made her bed, and now she has to die in it.

Before he met her, she was broken,
A frail, pale shell of her former self,
Because the man before him broke her,
Tore out her heart and rendered her unfixable,
Countless lovers but no one to hold her,
No one to see her for the lost soul she was,
Desperately searching for solid ground.

But then he came along,
He whisked her off of her feet like a fairytale,
But she still stayed hesitant,
For he could not be trusted,
And she flinched at the touch no matter how light,
But determination took him and he promised,
‘I’ll fix her’.

Her battles invisible and agonies silent,
He began to fix her,
Devoting so many waking hours to her reconstruction,
That he lost himself,
In a whirlwind of a love story,
But instead of Happy Ever After,
It was torture.

A leopard never changes its spots,
The same way a tiger never changes its stripes,
She said she would change,
She would refrain from draining the life from his body,
For she was unhinged and impulsive in her actions,
Selfish for beneficial gains,
And slowly but surely she broke him.

Years passed slowly between them,
With lonely nights and countless goodbyes,
Temperament always present,
And tears always flowing,
Despite until death do them part,
Unavoidable circumstances tearing them apart,
She snapped.

She began to turn,
Slowly being led astray by temptation,
The allure of alcohol, drugs and ***,
Turned her into an animal,
Raging and hungry she pounced,
With no thought to the heart across the pond,
Waiting to come back to her again.

She threw her love away,
For those futures spoken about in hushed whispers,
Did not cross her mind,
For she only thought about herself,
But once the deed was done,
She had made her bed,
And now she had no choice but to lie in it.

The weight was lifted,
His shoulders felt lighter without the burden,
Thriving in employment and happiness,
Not taking his life for granted,
Although he lost the love of his life,
At last he finally knew,
He was free.

~E.S