Everyone says you are evil,
That you tried to ruin my life.
What they forget is that my life
Is not ruined, because I have
Never known it without you.

Praying for your absence
Seems odd, even unnatural
To me. You have become an
Integral part of my life;
Every decision I have made
Involved you. To pray that
You would leave overnight
Would leave me desolate, but

I suppose I have other
Places to go; decisions to make:
Neither of which involve you.

Learning to live without you
Is an undertaking I had
Always wanted, but now that
It is a reality, I am not sure
Where to begin, or how to
Begin. People say that this
Is the “beauty of it all,” and
Perhaps that is true,
But I am beginning with something new.

Expectations placed upon me now
Cannot be met overnight. Maybe you know this,
So to protect me from
Impending failure, you continue to
Reside within my mind.

Perhaps I do not need your misguided
Protection. The principles you have instilled
Within me have caused more
Hinderances than they have relief.

Still, I cannot help but pity your
Tireless efforts. I can see now that
You were tired, and I was ungrateful.
Or maybe you were not trying to protect
Me at all. It could very well be that
You were trapped, trying to escape, but

You never knew how.