I must cut the cord, stop the pollution
Forced suffering upon her
To end mine

Stop inviting her to my house
Delay our communication
Strengthen my friendship with others
Pretended not to notice her
Pushed her away
It was all I could do
It was so little but it was so hard
She tried not to let it get to her

I lied to her.

A crack
Then completely crumbling
Trembling with panic
Aching with distrust
Hardly able to fathom the magnitude of pain
Stricken with melancholy and grief

She understands now
Everything flipped
In the blink of an eye
Before she could turn her head
I was gone
A rug ripped from beneath her

If only it were a dream
No, a nightmare
Still she perseveres
Determined to stay out of the shadows
Because the shadows show the dark
They leave you time to think
And too much thinking will eat you alive
So she runs, not hides
The wind blowing the tears behind her
Until they cease

She must recover
Before anyone notices
Mending the wounds
Repaired and restored
Masking the scars
Turn your head twice but
You only see her thriving
As if it didn’t even happen

She’ll be changed
The evil in her, diluted
But the good perspiring nonetheless.