Sometimes, loving someone
is about leaving them the way they are.
Not everyone belongs on your to-do list,
not everyone is fit to be fixed.
While we may believe that
we’re meant to leave people
better than we found them,
sometimes, we’re just meant to leave.
If I tried to censor every mouth I met that ever
uttered a nasty word,
I’d be a moth
racing towards every light, enticing,
trying
to kill me.
There is no shame giving up
on someone you just couldn’t save
if it means you save yourself from it, too.
There is courage in continuing to keep the door propped open
even after the bad ones got in.
But there isn’t in sewing yourself up
even when you knew it’d
hurt this much after.
Not everyone can be saved from themselves;
it is not your responsibility to save each one.
Sometimes, loving yourself
is about hearing footsteps enter your home
that already sound like someone leaving
and not take this as a challenge, but knowing it’s
just someone on their way out.
So spot on Elle! Well done!
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Nice…
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Omg.. You’ve found a way to express exactly what I’ve always done wrong. Yet gave me the courage to see what I’ve always known.
(There is no shame giving up
on someone you just couldn’t save
if it means you save yourself from it, too.)
This is everything I needed!! You are special Elle.. A gift. A messenger for people..xoxo
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Couldn’t agree with this comment more. Well done, Elle!
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a wise thought weaved in your magical verse ❤️
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This was an amazing piece filled with alot of gems as do most of your lovely writing. I had to stop and reread the verse ‘ if i tried to censor every mouth…’ it was captivating .🙌🙌🙌
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Yes!! So well done.
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Fair point 👏
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Reblogged this on davidbruceblog #2.
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Love them all with all their devilry, and angelic ways;with their clean or unclean mouths. You have it nailed on that bullseye: leave them as they are. In my honest brutal opinion and experience, yes. We need not change or control people, it is really up to their capacity to see themselves in an ultra 10k mega uber Hd mirrors, to know they can do it themselves.
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Just like a jigsaw, you cannot reshape a piece to fit in for it to be at your ease.
Good job Elle! The way you put thoughts into words so flawlessly is so mesmerizing
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Beautifully written from the heart as only you can do. Others write but you have a special talent for expressing in words feelings and emotions that go beyond words. Another well-written poem. Thank you for writing the fantastic poems that you do. Stan
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ah… the art of detachment…
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Sometimes people are there to learn something from them, and that’s it. Each person I’ve known that was difficult to let go of I ended up learning a lot from long after they were gone.
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Words of wisdom right here…thank you for sharing.
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Your words are so much wiser than…”You can’t save some people from themselves” or “You can’t fix stupid.” Agree, we must try, but we should not make a career out of rescuing others. Great post.
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So true! Excellent words.
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So true! I am one of those who had to terminate contact with immediate family in order to protect my state of mind. Extremely difficult at times, but crucial the relationship is destructive.
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this is beautiful
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Amen on this ! My life is full of my ” Good Samaritan Syndrome “. Like I had to make everyone’s life better , often at great expense to my own peace of mind. Well said, Elle !
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This is great. Such a strong ending! I love that last stanza.
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet and commented:
Come and learn why sometimes, we’re just meant to leave!
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YO ( DEEP ) You definitely open on up my hears , mind , eyes , NICE I LIKE THAT = That’s 100% 😎
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I love this, I dont know but I relate with this to a certain level
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Elle, well done, with so much truth and wisdom contained in your delicate net of words. This was so rewarding to read.
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Once again, Elle, you, for me, write and share with a heartfelt poignancy that touches something deep in the core of me. Your self-awareness and capacity to articulate the light and shadow of love, as you experience it, is breathtaking. I especially thank you for your closing words:
Sometimes, loving yourself
is about hearing footsteps enter your home
that already sound like someone leaving
and not take this as a challenge, but knowing it’s
just someone on their way out.
These words bespeak, for me, an essential time-and-space discernment of beginnings and endings, indeed, potential endings in the prospect of beginnings. Marvelous.
Much love and admiration and appreciation,
Paul
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Paul, you are always much too kind. Thank you for your sweet words–readers like you keep me going to tell these authentic, real-life stories. 🙂
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Oh heavens, your words are so lovely. I’m an editor by profession, but read and enjoy a lot of poetry blogs. Although my field of expertise is editing historical pieces, I still consider myself a poetry connoisseur. With that being said, this may sound strange, but since WordPress is a community, you don’t happen to know the poet at https://thingsishouldprobablysay.wordpress.com do you? I’ve really loved and been swept off my feet by two blogs; yours and his. If you do know him, I’d pay to read a collaboration. You two allow me to see the world in such a tangible way that I sometimes weep at the raw beauty of the poems. Sorry this was such a long comment, I didn’t mean it to be. Cheerio
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Aw Caitlin this is so sweet! I actually have seen him around this scene–I do my best to know who is in this community as I have a larger reach. I love his ideas–we do use the same tone! Thank you for showing me his work. I appreciate your readership! ❤
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Brilliant!!
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I love the ending and the image of the moth flying hopelessly, fatally into the light. Really well done!
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Hmm, nicely put. In my own case if I want to influence anyone at all (and I’m not at all sure I do!) I would rather do it with the written word as you have done than face to face. In any event, I am not sure that people can be made to change or should be. Unless the need for change comes through self realisation it probably does not stand a chance.
Even then I am not sure we have the ability to alter the bedrock of our nature, try as we might. At least that has been my own experience, despite the much vaunted plasticity of the brain.
And leaving aside the difficult sticking points of self will or its lack (determinism).
I have enjoyed your work.
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Interesting insight! Of course it’s easier to have these tough conversations as written–since you’re able to dictate exactly what you say and how you’ll get across. But I think there is something raw and honest about hashing something out in person; it doesn’t come out perfectly and packs-a-punch everytime–but does anything else in life? Thanks for commenting!
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I have finally learned this after 20 some years of dating. Excellent piece.
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Well, that was timely for me… ❤ Such beautiful moth imagery that I can relate to and will remain in my mind's gallery. Thank you for "penning" your words and sharing them.
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This is a really interesting concept piece! Great food for thought.
Dwight
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The beginning is so powerful 🙂 Enjoyed the read – thank you. 🙂
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“Sometimes, loving yourself
is about hearing footsteps enter your home
that already sounds like someone leaving
and not take this as a challenge, but knowing it’s
just someone on their way out.”
So very right! Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!
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Gosh, where do you get that much wisdom? This is amazing!
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Such wisdom. Yep. You just have such true aim!!! Thank You and Cheers! 🙂
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I believe all relationships have their season in time., some many seasons. However, change happens. Sometimes the changes we go through bring us closer together, other times we drift apart and go our own separate ways. Nonetheless, it’s important to recognize healthy vs unhealthy relationships and get yourself out of toxic situations.
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Well framed👍👍
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I love this, it’s absolutely beautiful. I got emotional reading this and initially didn’t know why, until I realized that this poem illuminated a lot of relationships in my life. Thank you for this.
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Such beauty and wisdom, I was moved all the way to the end, thank you for sharing. Thank you also Elle for taking the time to like several of my recent posts, I appreciate that very much 🧡
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This is something I’m learning.. to not try and save everyone
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WOW! Yes!
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