Lovebirds That Broke Us

How do you mourn something that was not yours anymore?

A shadow of love, a fleeting mirage—

You laughed, your voices a duet of sweet conspiracy,

While my heart stood quiet, unseen in the wings.

You danced in circles I could never enter,

Every step a knife, every glance a burn.

And I, the girl who was sitting in the corner,

Watched as you wove a tapestry of “us” without me.

I was the steady ground beneath your feet,

The bridge you crossed to reach each other.

But bridges wear thin under constant tread,

And I crumbled while you built your new castle in the sky.

Did you notice the cracks forming beneath your joy?

Did you hear my silent screams when your laughter grew louder?

Or was I just the background noise to your symphony,

A whisper drowned by your love’s crescendo?

You planned a future where I was a bystander,

A witness to vows I could never dream to share.

And still, I stayed.

I swallowed shards of hope and called them love,

Choked on the shards of dreams that cut my throat.

I smiled while bleeding,

Nodding at your next move as if they didn’t shatter my core.

Every code you spoke to the new bird

Felt like a secret carved into my skin.

“Someday, I'll be back to you,” you said.

And I wondered if someday meant the end of me.

I traced the outlines of your love

With trembling fingers and tear-stained eyes,

Trying to understand how I could hold so much pain

And still remain whole.

Tell me, did you ever see the wreckage you left behind?

The love you drained from me without asking?

Did you know your happiness was bought with my silence, and the slow, suffocating death of my soul?

That your bliss was the price of my heartache?

I gave and gave until I was hollow,

And you both, the lovebirds, soared higher,

Unaware of the ashes you left in your wake.

Now, I sit in the ruins of what could never be,

Watching you build a life I’m not a part of.

The weight of unspoken words presses against my chest,

And the silence between us grows louder each day.

I love you in ways you could never hold, in ways you refused to believe.

And now, all I have is this unbearable ache,

A wound that never closes, a scar that never fades.

So, fly high, lovebirds,

Nest in the sky you chose to build together.

I will remain here, beneath your perfect horizon,

A memory you’ll never hold, a heart you’ll never know.

But know this—

Even as I break,

Even as I fall,

I will never forget the way you loved,

Or the way it destroyed me.

——

Inspired by a 21st-century heartbreak story I encountered through voice notes and messages,

I am truly an empath—I cannot simply feel nothing or remain unbothered when someone close to me endures the dread of not being chosen by the person who was once her 'lover.'