The Price You Pay Poem by Lisa AT

I gave you the anchor of my constant heart,
I love you, I said, from the very start.
Always have, always will, that truth remained,
Even as the weather shifted and the colors stained.
But love became a wheel that spun too fast,
A breathless height that could never last.
The tumultuous peaks, the blinding sky,
Followed by the drop, and the questions, why?
​When it was good, it was a beautiful fire,
Everything I wanted, every deep desire.
But the downs brought a darkness, cold and deep,
Stealing my peace, robbing my sleep.
Now the nights are long, a heavy, restless sea,
Where dread and anxiety take hold of me.
It messes with my mind, it breaks the gears,
Leaving me functioning only through tears.
​I look for your hand, but the space is bare,
I reach for support, but you aren't there.
Abandoned in the quiet of the wreckage we made,
Watching the promises we built start to fade.
You pursued me so fiercely, drew me to your side,
And I stepped forward with my arms open wide.
I changed my whole life, left the shore behind,
For a future I thought we had both designed.
​I carried the weight, took the financial strain,
Pressed under pressure, walking through the pain.
I gave you my world, everything I could choose,
Risking it all, with everything to lose.
But the hands that pursued me turned careless and cold,
Breaking the very spirit they promised to hold.
You disappointed me so many times, left me frayed at the start,
And love isn't enough when it tears you apart.
Yet a love that deep doesn't just disappear,
It leaves an echo that stays, sharp and clear.
Though I choose the quiet, though I choose to heal,
Nothing can erase the truths that we feel.
You are woven into the fabric of who I have been,
A permanent shadow in the places we've seen.
I am closing the door, but I won't lock away
The piece of my soul that was yours every day.
​I will carry you with me, a quiet, hidden spark,
Kept safe and deep where the memories are dark.
Forever a part of the story I've told,
A heavy, beautiful weight in my heart's deepest hold.
I will hold you there gently, where you cannot harm,
Far from the chaos, the noise, and alarm.
I love you, I always will, through the passing of time,
Until I take my last breath, I will be yours and you will be mine.