STAGE ONE: DENIAL
At first, it’s all a blur.
Nothing prepared you to miss him as much as you do.
And nothing helps you realize it,
Than playing it back again for number three-hundred and thirty-two.

Now you stare at beige-colored walls
With nothing in your sight.
Because even the solid color of your room
Doesn’t know what you didn’t do right.

STAGE TWO: ANGER
Annoyance with the people around you
Can drive you completely insane.
While they are happy and you are not,
Could make you absolutely deranged.

You scream into the darkness of the night
And lock all your doors,
Shutting everyone out,
And stashing the key in the floorboards.
(Not even you can find it).

STAGE THREE: MOURNING
Leaving your house is not something you do,
Staying inside is what you like, though you know it’s a lie--
Secluded from elements and chemicals,
Chained down to your mattress by invisible zip-ties.

You never smile anymore.
Your friends start to wonder why.
You face is a blank canvas,
That the painter left bone dry.

STAGE FOUR: CRYING
You seem to be unaware,
Drowsy at the most.
Like a worn-out piece of plastic,
After it’s been tainted and tossed.

You don’t leave the corner
Where your walls all come together
Just like you used to be with him,
Until it was severed.

STAGE FIVE: FOOD
The beautifully-carved chocolate chips,
That are shoved into thick mix.
Held together by the soft mushiness,
Giving you the needed fix.

Maybe it’s the constant need for him,
That makes you try to replace his lips.
But instead, it makes you want more like
Something as simple as a bag of chips,.

STAGE SIX: BLAME
In the beginning,
You were uncertain and questioned his intentions.
But you fell in love with his charming smile,
And that was the end of it.

Now it’s only you to blame,
And you can understand why.
You loved him and he left you
It was a sin but not a crime.

STAGE SEVEN: DELETE
Before you can blink,
You hit the word, “delete,”
Cancelling any chance you had
At suffering another defeat.

You leave him like he left you,
And you lose him like he lost you.
You miss him, even if he doesn’t feel the same.
You know you lost everything you had once thought you’d gained.

STAGE EIGHT: TIME
You smile for the first time in a while.
You haven’t heard your laugh in so long.
Hearing it makes you see the sparkling
Fireworks that start to go off.

The hurting in your chest fades faster.
And the pain in your skull grows dimmer,
And while you smile, you stick your finger up to
The clock’s chasing ticker.

STAGE NINE: REBOUND
You know you are using him,
Just to try to raise your self-esteem.
To make up for what you lost,
And for who you wish you could be.

He gives you hope--
That could love you till your heart dances to pure white,
That the world does have some good men
And someday, you could be a bride.

STAGE TEN: ACCEPTANCE
You decide it’s finally time to dive yourself into your passions,
Maybe picking up a new hobby.
Understanding that he doesn’t deserve your side,
Your smile, or a seat in your lobby.

You no longer wish he is hurting
You’d rather him be smiling with a ten,
Even if it isn’t with you.
Because you survived the deadly stages of crushing,
To live to see another process start again.