The Goodbye that freed me

Hurting was never the plan, Loving was the plan. Feeling this pain was unexpected, But still… expected. But hurting you will not. Your kind heart deserves a heaven, girl— Not a struggle person, Picking up her shattered self, one by one. Letting you go doesn’t mean I hate you, But that I’m strong enough to let you go. Just like how the sun is strong enough To allow the moon shine and glow in the dark. But in this quiet, I find myself again, Stitching pieces not for someone else, but for me. I’m not the girl I was when I first said “hi,” I’m the woman rising in the “goodbye.” He was a lesson, not a home. A chapter, not the whole story. And while I once saw forever in his eyes, Now I see freedom in mine. Freedom to be strong—not to be free. Freedom to start fresh—not to live in guilt. Hurting is also love, Because it allows me to feel something more than love— Which is pain. Pain is love. For it allows you to be strong… To know yourself. Pain teaches what peace sometimes forgets— That surviving is a form of love too. That breaking is not the end, But the bending toward truth. And I bent But I did not break So I rise, not because I was unhurt, But because I chose me in the ach