20 Day Challenge #12

This is prompt #8: write about love. This isn't based on personal experience, but rather the feeling I got after reading a poem written by an old friend (I took a very different approach than he did, but just ran with the emotion I felt after reading). I was worried that this prompt would turn out cheesy or sappy, so I'm glad I managed to come up with something a little more sorrowful.

You took me with you when you left.

You took me with you and you never looked back,

thought you left me where my body is,

too scared to move, too timid to follow.

I am frozen, rooted to the spot,

but my mind and soul are free to soar,

to go with you,

see the life we could have had.

You took the best parts of me,

the ones that laugh easily,

that forgive quickly,

that make a house a home.

You stayed here just long enough to let me know what that feels like,

but you grew restless,

felt the longing for someplace new,

and you knew I would not follow you,

so you left before you felt trapped.

You wanted to take only the good with you,

thought it was better to leave before love turned to hate.

But you left a hollow in my heart,

filled it with a longing I have never known

and now my home is a cage.

The door is unlocked, but I've shut myself in.

I can picture the life we would have together,

I dream of the places I've never been,

the places I could find with you.

Maybe if I hadn't been so scared,

I could be finding them right now,

but when I realized I had to choose between your love and this life,

I couldn't bear to give up what I had.

And time has created more distance between us than the miles ever could.

While it lasted, we lived in harmony,

but now I'm singing out unmatched melodies,

hoping that somewhere deep inside you can feel them.

And I dream about the things that could have been,

and the life I could have had with you,

while I live mine out alone.