The Dream I Couldn’t Hold

I see you in the distance, standing where we’d planned,

The dreams we once imagined now alive in someone’s hands.

Her laughter fills the spaces where my silence used to be,

And you’ve become the man I always knew you’d be.

It’s selfish to be missing you, I broke you, made you fall,

I left you with the wreckage, no love, just pain at all.

You deserve the light you’ve found, the peace you’ve fought to keep,

You climbed out of the shadows where I left you buried deep.

Though I’m the one who let you go, it cuts so painfully,

To watch you live the dream we built with someone else, not me.

I gave you all my chaos, my scars, and empty nights,

The weight of my addiction dimmed the fire in your eyes.

I left you chasing answers in a pill you didn’t need,

And now I watch you standing tall, finally breaking free.

You gave me love I couldn’t hold, a life I couldn’t save,

But now you’ve found the healing that I was too lost to crave.

You deserve the light you’ve found, the joy you’ve come to know,

You built a life from ashes of the one I let you show.

Though I’m the one who walked away, it’s still so hard to see,

You living out the love we dreamed with someone else, not me.

Does she know the strength it took to rise from where you’d been?

Does she see the cracks I left, the fight beneath your skin?

I hope she holds you gently, the way I never could,

And gives you all the peace I lost while I misunderstood.

You deserve the light you’ve found, the love you’ve finally earned,

The happiness I couldn’t give, the lessons that you learned.

I’ll stay here in the shadows, watching as you thrive,

Knowing that you’re happy now is what keeps me alive.

So I’ll carry the guilt and the pain that I’ve sown,

The man that you’ve become is better off alone.

You’re living all the dreams we dreamed, and now it’s clear to see,

That you deserve the love you’ve found—and it’s not with me.