I couldn’t love you with this broken heart
I kept cutting us both pieces with my sharp edges
I needed to heal from this damage done by other people

We couldn’t grow together, when I didn’t know how to grow alone
I couldn’t love you without hurting us both
Setting you free was a selfish act of preservation

But being selfish was the best gift I could give you
Even if in the aftermath we lost each other
We both blossomed in the destruction of our love

I am grateful for all the things your love gave me; I hope time has made you grateful too
I hope you remember me with fondness and not venom
Our love was only made for memories, not for lasting

Let the past be the past
Let our new loves benefit from the decay of that first love
Thank you for loving me when I was still learning to be a person