"LOVING MYSELF WITHOUT YOU" in "RESTLESS: POETICALLY-SPEAKING"

This stage should not be skipped,
yet many often get past it,
in the name of love from another
in hopes, the one will stick around longer,
if not forever.

I’ve made that stupid mistake
of loving you first
before getting to know me.
I’ve listened to cruel people
in order to make myself feel worthy.

Never, never again
will I sabotage me
not with the same old pain.
It’s taken me a while to be here.
Now it’s all crystal clear.

If loving myself first means living without you,
then I should’ve done it sooner.
Still, better late than never.
After all, I am still the only one
who’s always been around
when the likes of you may have chosen to be gone …

R.