FIREPLACE POETRY

She didn’t leave
because she stopped loving him.

She left
because she couldn’t keep
begging love
to feel like love.

She stayed.

Longer than she should have.

She hoped.

Longer than she should have.

She believed
that if she loved harder…

gave more…

asked for less…

one day,
she’d finally feel chosen.

But love
was never supposed
to feel this lonely.

So she walked away.

Not because it was easy.

Because it was breaking her
to stay.

And somehow…

leaving hurt too.

Every step
felt like a goodbye
to the future
she had spent years believing in.

She questioned herself.

Maybe I gave up too soon.

Maybe I expected too much.

Maybe love
was always supposed
to hurt.

Until one quiet moment
she realized—

The hardest thing
isn’t loving someone.

It’s loving someone
with your whole heart…

and spending every day
wondering
why it never feels
like they’re loving you
with theirs.

She didn’t walk away
because she stopped fighting.

She walked away
because she finally understood…

you can’t keep setting yourself on fire

hoping
someone else
will finally feel warm.

And maybe
that will always be
the hardest part.

Not losing the person.

Losing the life
you would have given
everything to keep—

while finally realizing

you were the only one
giving everything
to begin with.

By: Alex Garvin (Fireplace-Poetry)