Bygones

As the smoke cleared from the rubble
Of what was you and I,
I saw the remains of a dead end love
Two broken hearts reduced to ash.

I rose from the soot
And carried on,
Plagued by contradictions, dreams,
And melancholy what-ifs.

I clung to bits and pieces of you
In knick knacks, pictures, and clothes,
So long standing that they'd blended in—
Just part of the landscape of my life.

I had become a shell of myself:
A memory hoarder. A love scavenger.
An addict picking crumbs of you
From the floor to save for later.

The smell of you faded
From the shirts you left behind,
But the things you said and did remain
Like ghosts that haunt me day and night.

I don't know when you went away.
It's as if I chipped piece by piece
Until your grip on my heart loosed
Like mourning clothes falling to the floor.

I am rebuilding my home
In my own skin
And clearing these monuments to a bygone love.
My God, it feels so sweet.