Love isn't always the grip of fingers intertwined,
the desperate holding on
like a lifeline.
Sometimes, it's the unclenching of fists,
the release of something
you thought you couldn't live without.
It's letting a friend drift away,
not because you stopped caring,
but because their path no longer runs beside yours.
You watch from a distance
as they make new memories,
smiling through the sting
of being left out.
It's standing in the doorway,
watching your sibling pack up boxes,
the room you grew up in
now just a place they visit.
You hold back tears
because this is what growth looks like.
You want them to soar,
even as your heart aches for their laughter
down the hall.
It's a lover walking away
no fight, no yelling,
just the quiet understanding
that staying would hurt more than leaving.
You swallow the "please don't go,"
bury it deep,
because love shouldn't be a cage.
It's watching your child take their first steps
toward independence
a dorm room,
a new city,
a hand no longer needing yours to cross the street.
You let them stumble,
let them fail,
even when all you want to do
is catch them.
And sometimes,
it's letting go of someone
who doesn't see you the way you see them.
You stand by their side,
silently cheering for their happiness,
even when it's with someone else.
You don't ask for their love in return
you just hope they feel yours,
from afar.
If you love them,
you'll let them go,
not because you want to,
but because they need you to.
Because love isn't possession
it's freedom,
it's trust,
it's the courage to step back
and say,
"I want you to be happy,
even if it's without me."
