Heroes and Villains

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I am not the author of your story
As much as that saddens me to admit
You are the wordsmith of your tale
You write yourself as the hero of your own journey
Despite being so often the villain of mine
But understanding how you see your world
Understanding that you can be none other
Than the hero of your pages
Helps me gain perspective into why
You write me as the arch-villain of your narrative

There is no mirror in your story
You cannot see yourself
And as if bespelled
You see only monsters and
Enemies in every shadow
My pages would describe the cause
As a self-afflicted curse
Yours would imply the question
Are villains born or made?
For you would say you are
The result of what others made you
Be you hero or villain
You are forever alone
Shadowboxing every perceived threat
And drawing blood from everyone
Who gets too close for too long
Blinded by pain and unable to
See that the one causing
The most pain for you is you
Like a manifested destiny
It becomes so

As our books sit side by side on the shelf
Yours a story of never ending rage, war, and loss
Mine becomes a story of surrender, retreat, and release
For I am removing myself from your story
It is time to make myself the hero of my own
And write the closing of this chapter
For I can feel the peace and love I deserve
Waiting for me in the next chapters of my life
I am ready to transform my story
Into the self-love story I have long deserved
I hope you find your happy ending
I write a magic wish for that
Into my final paragraph
Of our chapter in my book
Then turn the page to my tabula rasa
Full of potential and possibilities
And the freedom to write my future
As rich and joyful as I can imagine it

-gws

Say the Thing, Make it Awkward

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Say the thing
Make it awkward

For we never know when the final fickle Fate
Will wield her scissors and snip a thread from our tapestry
Forever severing a connection
An action that cannot be undone

"I love you."
"I miss you."
"I care about you."
"You are important to me."
"My life is better with you in it."

Whatever the thing is you feel
SAY IT
And let it go
Knowing that you have released love
In some version
Into the life of someone you care for in some way

We are fortunate to have our lives
Woven with many threads
But as gently as we are entangled together
The severing and unraveling are inevitable
Sharp and severe
We will have loss
But we do not have to have regret

Say the thing
Make it awkward

Only Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos
See the grand weaving of our lives
How each chapter of our lives will unfold
And how and when those varied chapters will end
Within those pages we are gifted with the opportunity of choice
To give and receive love with the others in our story

Say the thing
Make it awkward

-gws

The Reason I Avoided That Place

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I didn't need to have a reason
But I did
The reason I avoided that place
Was you
Was me
Was us
You see
That was the place you decided that
Us ceased to be
That was the place where
I returned to being just me
The place where your voice
Was replaced by the sound of slowly cracking glass
As my heart shattered in my chest
Your eyes pitied me
While your lips spilled more
Shattered glass to fill my roaring ears
I forgot how to breathe
And my now shattered heart forgot how to beat
And your eyes pleaded with me
Because you were already gone
You had dismantled us
Placed the pieces into a shoebox
And buried me alive in a shallow grave
I love you-s replaced by
I'm sorry-s
Those brown eyes indeed sorrowful
As my soul was felled by a thousand surgical cuts
Sundering two halves into two less-than wholes
I just wanted you to stop talking
To stop looking at me that way
To stop tearing down my world
Then you left
And I stayed
I didn't need to have a reason to avoid that place
But I did

-gws

My Hummingbird

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My hummingbird visited me today
She was excited to remind me how she told me that everything would be okay
Her last visit was to remind me that the Goddess had not turned from me
This visit was to celebrate good news finally come
How blessed I am to be able to converse with messengers of the Divine
How lucky I am to recognize them
I will miss her as her home is here, and now my home will be elsewhere
She and her family have been such wonderful neighbors and delightful friends
I will miss watching them play amongst the branches of the front trees
Now they will have new friends to meet 
May they be good and gentle ones

I love you, tiny, shiny friend
Thank you for your friendship
Thank you for your work as a messenger
May your life be full of bright flowers and sweet nectar
Warm sunshine and gentle breezes
And when you one day return to our Mother
May Her garden be the temple of respite you so deserve

-gws
@wordswishesandwisdom

My Hummingbird written and read by GWS wordswishesandwisdom poetry poetrytok poem poet writer need

♬ original sound – GWS

Go With Love

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I love you.  Go upon your journey with that love as company in your heart.  We have grown, and our paths have diverged.  We didn't see it.  We didn't plan it, but it happened at some point, between breaths, when neither of us were paying attention.  We no longer see the world the same way.  Time and personal experiences have distanced our paths.  There was a fork in our road, and without knowing it, we, each, chose a different direction.  By the time we looked back to realize we were no longer side by side, we had walked too far to double back to find each other again.  We could only gaze across the distance, confused, and with quietly breaking hearts, wave goodbye and continue forward with a dull ache in our breasts.  

I want you to know that I gathered up my love for you, and placed it in a space of honor on my heart's alter.  We may no longer be close friends, but I never stopped loving you.  I will never stop loving you.  Your role in my life is undeniable, and I cherish it.  I wish you all the happiness and love you can ever want.  I pray life is kind to you.  Whether or not not you feel the same toward me, or if I have faded quietly from your mind, may my love for you be stamped deep upon your heart.  I hope it fills your cup whenever you need it, as memories of you fill mine.  Above all, know I love you still.  

May the moss soften your steps.
May the rain quench your thirst.
May the sun shine its warmth upon you.
May your table always have plenty.
May you know as much joy as you desire.
May you receive as much love as you share.
May your life be rich in blessings and richer with joy.

-gws