by Susan Biddy

Created on: August 15, 2007

What Part of ME Did You Not Get?

She sat in their living room
in a place she once called home,
and went back in time,
as she studied the pictures on their wall.
Looking at their wedding day photo,
she stepped back into the shoes
of a young, nave girl,
who put her hand in his,
and promised her heart to only him;
she buried her head in her hands and cried . . .

I promised you everything,

my loyalty,
my devotion,
my love.
I joined my life with yours
without hesitation,
trusting and unquestioning.
and now I just need to know
back when we were young,
and I gave myself completely to you,
what part of ME did you not get?

She looked at pictures
when it was just the two of them,
from job to job,
and dream to dream,
she followed him;
his dreams becoming hers,
and hers just fading into days
when she was just a silly girl,
who thought he was a king;
as she looked at their life together
and didn't see herself in the picture,
she wondered . . .

I supported you in everything,
your choices,
your successes,
your dreams.
I stood by you during difficult times,
never wavering,
grounded in our love,
and I just need to know . . .
when I sacrificed my dreams,
what part of ME did you not get?

Then her focus turned to
pictures of their little boys,
each one with a beautiful smile
and sparkling eyes;
and she remembers how they cried together,
seeing each baby for the first time.
She thinks back to nasty coughs and sleepless nights,
first steps and happier times,
and she questions . . .

Here I have shared with you
the best that I could give,
my love,
my dreams,
my life;
and now you stand before me,
telling me about her;
you say she has filled
an empty place in your life,
that she makes you feel alive;
but I just need to know,
after everything I have done for you,
giving up my dreams to watch yours come true
raising your children while losing my youth,
please can you tell me,
what part of ME did you not get?

So now he stands before her,
the man who took all she had to give,
and gave nothing in return,
her faith, her loyalty, her trust, all are now gone,
after many tears and a lot of years, she stood beside him,
and now she just needs to know . . .

There's not much I have left to give;
I am only a shell of who I once was,
and I don't really know who I am anymore,
but before you go and take all I have freely given,
I stand before you with what little of me I do have left,
and I just need to know,
Is there any more of ME you did not get?

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