Walk In My Footsteps Poem by Melissia Ann Senter

You always ask me to please give you another chance.
I tell you all I can offer you is my friendship
You always reply that is not enough.

I tell you to take a long walk in my footsteps of the last two years.
Firstly, look at what I found out about you back then.
No only did I find out you were secretly giving money to my best friend
but you were also sleeping with her, then lying with me at night,
professing your love to me was true.
I asked if you were seeing someone
but your reply was in the negative,
assuring me, by promise that you would never hurt me that way.

Now I say walk in my footsteps of betrayal,
tell me could you give me another chance
if I was the one who was doing the betraying?
After twenty one ones years I question why
and you choke on your reply.
'I don't know.
I was stupid.
It was a big mistake.
I'm sorry
I never meant to hurt you in any way.
It just happened.'

How can you ask me to give you another chance
when this is not the first time you have done this with her?
You say 'Baby people learn from their mistakes.'
Believe me, I have learned a lot from my mistake.

I learned just how much I love you and the kids
and that I should have known this all along.
You then say, 'If you would just open up your heart one more time,
you would see I am a changed man.'
I ask you, 'Why couldn't you be this changed person
for the twenty one years we have been together,
and this may have never happened? '

You answer, ' I know baby but I am changed now.
Don't throw us away.'
I reply that I can't give you that second chance
because she is always there in the shadows,
and when you touch me, I am thinking,
'Is he thinking of her or me? '
I am sorry but I can't give you this second chance you want.
There in no love left,
for you broke my heart into a million pieces.
On that day I became numb
and my heart has never mended.
I can't even look at you anymore
because when I do, all I see is her looking back at me laughing.

Your touch stings my skin,
your 'I love yous' cut through me like a knife
and leave my soul to bleed for ever.
Now I ask you this one question,
could you, would you, be able to
walk in my footsteps if it were me who cheated?
I don't think you could....
walk in my footsteps.

By MELISSIA ANN SENTER