Left on Read

We were standing in your kitchen

Shoes still on the floor

You said nothing’s wrong

But you’d said that before

I watched you pack your patience

Into sentences too neat

I stayed quiet

Like silence

Was something I could keep

(Chorus)

I let you leave without stopping you

Like that made me kind

I told myself

You’d come back

If it really mattered in time

I didn’t raise my voice

I didn’t ask you to stay

I chose being easy

And that’s what cost me everything that day

You texted me in pieces

Things I didn’t want to hear

I read them like a stranger

Who pretends they don’t care

I thought restraint was noble

Thought space would make you breathe

But distance isn’t mercy

When it’s given selfishly

(Chorus)

I let you leave without stopping you

Like that made me strong

I said “do what you need”

Knowing damn well it was wrong

I didn’t cross the room

I didn’t block the door

I chose being reasonable

And lost what I should’ve fought for