Thank you for the quiet goodbye,
For following truth, not weaving a lie.
Though it pierced me, deep and slow,
You chose the path where honesty grows.

The pain of missing you is killing me,
But I know it’s a kinder cruelty.
Had you chosen me, with her in your mind,
It would have unraveled me, piece by piece, in time.

I’d have wondered if her shadow lingered there,
If your gaze held her image, your heart split, unfair.
I could have been your shelter, your flame,
But in my arms, her name would remain.

It would have destroyed me, not to know,
If your love was whole, or part of a show.
To lie awake, fearing every embrace,
Was a memory of her you couldn’t erase.

And worst of all, the quiet doubt,
That your choice of me had shut something out.
That you wondered, in silence, if you were right,
While I loved you with all my might.

So thank you for sparing me that fate,
For stepping back before it was too late.
For loving me enough to let me be free,
From the shadow of a love not meant for me.

The pain of missing you may never leave me,
But your choice saved me from far greater agony.
I’m grateful you chose her,
And even more grateful you chose not to destroy me.