finding the light on the other side

He taught me how to leave
how to pick through
the shattered pieces of myself
and find the strength
to get up off the floor
because what other choice
did I have
but to keep going?

His skin was my skin
our bodies inseparable
he was the shelter
my soul craved
before I knew my heart
needed a home
beyond the confines
of my ribcage

But love doesn't work
when we're threaded to each other
an embroidered tapestry
of flesh and lies
my ability to bend
the only reason we didn't break

And cutting the threads
felt like I was peeling
off my skin
just for a chance at a freedom
I wasn't sure would stick

I learnt to grow new skin
found the voice
he threw into the wind
every time I said something
he didn't like

I traced myself back
like a hurricane in reverse
picking through the aftermath
to re-find the whisps of clouds
that contained everything I was
before this love left me
destroyed

And I came back stronger
I came back weaker
I came back with more integrity
I came back with more anxiety
I came back somehow more
I came back somehow less

But I came back
because what other choice
did I have
but to keep going?