Grieving a friendship that once was!
They haven’t left the earth, they haven’t died,
No silent grave, no flowers by a stone.
Instead, they walk the world with steady stride,
While I am left to grieve them, all alone.
It hurts more than the finality of breath,
To watch the ghost of someone still in view.
A living loss, a quiet, breathing death,
Where every old familiar word rings new.
I hear their voice, the cadence that I knew,
The laughter that once made me feel so safe,
Now twists into a question: Was it true?
A sudden chasm where I used to gaze.
The one to whom I ran when days were dark
Is now the very storm I need to flee.
They strike the match and watch the questions spark,
And leave me doubting who I used to be.
Was I valued? Was the friendship real?
Or was I just a character they played?
I try to touch the truth I used to feel,
Only to watch the memories start to fade.
I am not mourning just a broken tie,
Or missing hours that we used to spend;
I’m mourning understanding, asking why—
Grieving the stranger hiding in my friend.