I never could have guessed or thought
That I would have to walk that path,
A road with so much sorrow fraught,
Paved only with reality’s wrath.

But she, she treads it with such grace,
A poise I couldn’t comprehend.
It felt so safe to watch her pace,
A dancer who could not offend.
She beat the eager birds, and shone—
A Goddess, joyful and complete.
To me, she was a work alone,
A flawless piece, from head to feet.

Where could I start? I didn’t know
That we were meant to grow apart.
N’oubliez jamais. The seeds you sow
With careless words can break a heart.
It was not what she would have chosen,
This path of solitude and night.
But what you needed to impose
Has left her emotional, drained of light.

We speak in anguish, in despair,
And think we have no other choice.
It’s not that we don’t care, or dare,
It’s that we’ve lost our mutual voice.
We drift, and don’t perceive the cost,
Forget the heritage we share—
That Ubuntu, never lost,
Means thinking of the other’s care.
Yes, self-care is a vital art,
But you must see them too.

The way back has vanished, torn apart.
While I was gone, emotional needs were growing.
I danced my own tune, self-adored,
Floated in my own air and glow,
Oblivious to the pleas ignored,
As she tried to keep in tow.
But the ground I walked, the very rule,
Was mine alone; she couldn’t stand.
I saw my path, and played the fool—
I didn’t see she needed land.

And now there’s nothing left to say.
She took her path and is on her way.
She needed space, in solitude,
From one whose self-love was so crude.
She doesn’t need my offered hand,
But that I let it and understand.
My fierce, emotional self-preservation…
Became her total Decimation.

(“N’oubliez jamais” – as in Joe Cocker’s song)