Don’t stay because you feel you must,
Love can’t be built on guilt or dust.
Stay only if your heart beats true,
If every breath still aches for “you.”

I want your smile, not just your face,
Your laughter warm, your soft embrace.
But if your joy begins to fade,
Don’t let our love become a cage.

I’d rather kiss you one last time,
Than hold you bound by silent crime.
So stay, my love, if love is why
Not just to soothe a saddened sigh.

The Morning After I Took My Life
When my lungs released their final breath,
Silence embraced everything around me.
Clothes, makeup, bed, and phone—
All waited, unaware I had already left.

My dog wonders where I’ve gone,
But in paradise, I’ve begun.
A new life, away from it all.

My friends kept calling, kept checking,
Not realizing it was already too late.
The morning after I left,
The world started to notice me.

And in the quiet of this new dawn,
I don’t regret it.