Peaceful Parting Poem by Joyce Rugg

You can't deny that we have changed,
perhaps more me than you.
Alterations neither good nor bad
shifts in self that simply are

No longer dependents,
each feeding upon the other.
We've finally broken the cycle
of draining and being drained

We're strong enough to stand alone,
sustained within ourselves.
Finding things we'd never know
If we had never slipped

I'm grateful for the things I've learned,
all that you have helped me see.
Though it seems like a bitter end,
this is where we both begin.