The Things We Sacrifice

so we break up
me and you
and we divide our life between us:

you get the guilt
I get the grief
we both get the missing

I keep some of our friends
you keep some of our friends
and some disappear in the middle – without the ‘us’ there is nothing for them to hold on to

you give me our everyday places – I get the cafes, the beach, the sun
you get the wind stroked islands and the long summer nights
without even noticing, I give you the whole northern hemisphere!

I get to keep my laughter
but I give you the sudden ugly faces that always made you smile
I leave them with you – no one else shall ever know them

I give you music – the music is yours!
but I find my dance
my swirling dance of freedom

no one gets the compass
no one gets the map

***

unconsciously
undeliberately
we sacrificed

as we humans do, when we leave parts of us behind
forget them in places, forget them in people
in relationships
in love