The Door I No Longer Open Poem by Martins Akhoeneto

I did not leave with anger;
I simply stopped opening the door.
Some endings need no argument,
no announcement, no explanation.

My time is finite;
I will not spend it on deceit
or mistake calculated loyalty for love.
Silence is not hatred,
it is the boundary of self-respect.

A door left open to everyone
eventually forgets how to be a home.
So I will be kind to all,
but not everyone gets the key.

I can forgive you without letting you back in,
wish you well without walking beside you.
I did not leave because I stopped caring;
I left because caring cost me too much.

Time is the one thing we cannot reclaim.
So I choose my peace,
close the door,
and finally come home to myself.