8. Burn it Beautiful

I knew she was leaving him Before she said a word Women learn to recognize certain silences The same way sailors recognize weather She kept staring at the table Turning her wedding ring slowly Like she was trying to unscrew herself From the last ten years She said “I don’t even know who I am anymore” I told her That’s what happens sometimes Piece by piece You become furniture in somebody else’s house Careful not to speak too loudly Careful not to trigger storms Careful not to need too much Until one day You realize your whole personality Has been edited for survival So if you’re gonna burn your life down honey Burn it beautiful Leave with your name still yours Leave with your spirit untouched Let the fire tell the truth About what survived there She laughed when she cried You know that kind of laughing? The kind that sounds exhausted More than amused Said she was scared people would judge her For staying so long I said People who’ve never been lonely enough Always think escape looks simple Outside Rain was running down the windows Like the whole city was trying not to look at us And I thought about all the women Who quietly disappear inside relationships Then apologize for the inconvenience Of finally saving themselves So if you’re gonna burn your life down honey Burn it beautiful Take every broken piece of yourself And carry it into the daylight Don’t leave quietly just to protect his version Of what happened there Some endings are not failures Some endings are escape routes If you’re gonna burn your life down honey Burn it beautiful Walk through the ashes like a woman returning Not disappearing And if the world asks why you left Tell them survival finally outweighed shame