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paper echoes
you wrote …
“do not
contact me again -
that girl …
the bubbly one you were once so
desperately in love with
no longer exists …
I ended her
and that should be all the
closure you need”
it wasn’t …
because I knew it was a lie -
a blade of words born brutal to drag
ragged across my throat
meant not only to cut our ties
but to sever any responses …
and it was effective
not because I was respecting your request
but because it stunned me -
shook me to the core
it demonstrated clearly that in our distance,
you had acquired something that
was completely new -
completely unexpected and entirely
out of character:
cruelty …
and therein lay a glaring irony:
it had been YOU who once told me that we
are all creations of the people
in our past -
puzzles made up of the
pieces of others that have been a
part of our lives
amalgams of how they affect us
what they teach us
and the imprint they make upon our souls
well …
if that’s true
then what part of you …
is ME?
we grew apart
not in love, but our directions -
our paths diverged
and over time those periods between
our romantic interludes
went from many to few … to oneday, none
but there was never a fight
or a break-up
never anything negative or contentious
no angry words or ire
an extraordinary closeness grew distant
until we were both so occupied with our goals
that the bridge was far too wide
and that, my biggest regret …
for when I was finally in a place where I could
contact you … SEE you
your transformation had taken place -
I was the keeper of rare bits of knowledge that
you had, in the meantime, deemed too dark
things that did not involve me
but, because of our intimacy, you had
shared with ONLY me
and now, as a result of that rare level of trust
I was your liability -
the only reminder of regrets so painful that
you had put them to death
along with the amazing, ebullient, charming girl
that I had once adored …
despite those errors of youth that we ALL
find on our way to maturity
the sad thing is that they clearly changed the
view you had of yourself
but they made NO difference to me
because those mistakes ALSO
make us who we are
and are the fires that temper our
character and integrity
and now -
despite your callousness and the over forty
years of your cold, forced indifference
I love you as much as I ever did
and truly,
if the fates granted me only one
more tomorrow,
if that day was spent in your
embrace …
it would make for …
a lifetime.
Copyright © 2025 Gregory Richard Barden
( photographic art created copyright-free by the author with GALA AI software )
Copyright ©
Gregory Richard Barden
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