When you left...

When you left, you died.
But it wasn’t you.
It was what you could have been.
When you died,
My other children died.
The smiling faces which
Could have looked into mine.
The arms which could have
Wrapped around me.

When you left, you took
Your anger with you.
I found a new life,
One of joy and peace.
But not hope.
Because when you left,
You also took
My belief in myself.

When you left, I knew
That all of myself which
I had poured into you
Was gone.
I could make my life
New again,
But it would never be
What could have been.

When you left, you found
A new life for yourself
Someone who could shape herself
Into your shadow.
Someone who wasn’t me.
And I was glad
That I didn’t have
To be your shadow any more.

When you left, you left
The love I had tried to give you
The love I can no longer have
For anyone.
You left a new love.
My heart will never be
What it was.
It will be more.