I gave you my heart,
Battered and used,
To do with as you choose.

Where it used to reside,
Now lies empty.
Waiting to be ready,
For the next heart to grow.
This was the one thing you taught me;
One thing I did not know:
Nothing stays hollow forever,
And the worst always gets better.

I lost one, so another could take its place,
Letting experience and past pain till the space,
So a heart that’s stronger could thrive.
You may have what was once mine,
And how that came about will fade in time,
But what will always remain in my mind,
Is that you didn’t reciprocate in kind.

But I want you to keep it.
Even if it stays a secret.
Because that old heart I had?
Held too much pain to mend,
And I am better off without it.

Jessie Gutierrez