“You see, I survived before you.
I can certainly survive without you.”
I tried so hard not to let you in, but you found a way through one of the fault lines in my walls. For a while, I thought it was going to be okay. But then you slipped out before I could even plead for you to stay. Looking back, I see the signs. I see how infectious you were. I see how you blinded me with sugar-coated half-truths. But I also feel that emptiness you left behind. I’m not perfect. Far from it. But if you didn’t build us atop eggshells disguised as a foundation, we couldn’t have broken so easily. You see, I survived before you. I can certainly survive without you. I just need to relearn how.
© Sarah Doughty
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Isn’t hindsight something? You can see it so clearly afterward. Unfortunately, all that knowledge does not mean you would have chosen a different path. Sometimes we see the writing on the wall walking into a situation, but we can’t get ourselves to turn away. Some lessons, I think we just have to go through. Lovely piece, Sarah.
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Yes, I couldn’t agree more. Maybe the lesson learned from that hindsight will help us be wiser in the future.
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YES!
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Thanks so much!
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Awesome.
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Oh, thank you!
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“But I also feel the emptiness you left behind.” We have to open ourselves up for the possibilities, but risk these vacuums. Beautifully written.
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Yes, so very true. Thank you for the kind words.
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Reblogged this on A Global Divergent Literary Collective.
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Thank you for sharing!
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🙏
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As always, Sarah, awesome work!!
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Thank you, lovely!
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Come on now, Sarah! Yes! I love what you have done here:
“I can certainly survive without you.””
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Oooh, thank you, lovely!
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You’re most welcome. 😊
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I love your choice of words in the one. Especially “fault lines in my walls” – as if it were all her fault. and “…how infectious you are”.- He isn’t just toxic – a localized thing that you have to come in contact with to get sick. He’s infectious, like bacteria in the air passing from one person to the next.
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Oooh, yes. I’m glad you caught that. 🙂
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