by Akilah S. Richards,
When they go,
be sure that you do not allow them
to take your things with them.
Don’t you worry about your tangibles;
You can get those back.
It’s the things you arrived with
that you need to keep intact.
When they go,
be sure that you do not assign them ownership
of what only you can truly own,
for when you do,
you lose your You,
and tragic seeds are sown.
When they go,
find joy in the loss
find peace in the passing
find yourself in the remnants.
They may have loved you,
and you may still love them,
but they do not own love.
And certainly they do not own your love,
just that instance of it, and you
must be happy to let them take that instance,
for you cannot use it anymore anyway.
Whatever you loved to do before they came,
Whatever you loved to do with them,
those things are not attached to them,
so do not make the mistake of tethering
your joy to their departure.
Let them leave,
for they are not leaving you,
they are taking their piece
of whatever you made together,
nothing more.
You take your piece and add it to yourself.
Juice it, use it, learn from it.
Then steady yourself, breathe deep,
Practice your stride again, and arrive at yourself—
Smarter, sharper, softer, stronger,
and fully prepared for the opportunity to experience
a richer, deeper Love.
Akilah S. Richards writes and speaks about radical self-expression, unschooling, Black womanhood, and emotional wellness. Her work and lifestyle philosophies have been featured in Essence, Clutch, and Real Simple magazines, and online at MSNBC’s Today Moms, RollingOut.com, CNN.com, and TinyBuddha.com. Akilah is a Contributing Writer at EverydayFeminism.com, and risks expression on her own blog over at radicalselfie.com.