I STOPPED

I used to cook for you with open hands and heart,
You praised each dish, each careful part.

You loved the before, the after too,
Your camera caught what your eyes once knew.

But the night I served you beef with broccoli ,
You didn’t look… it felt like I wasn’t there, really.

You praised the neighbors, dish whispered, “wow” instead
That was the first small fire that quietly fled.

We used to frame our smiles for the world to see,
Two names, one post, one soft we.

So I stopped cooking.
Stopped trying.

You liked my face, you wrote my name,
You made my silence feel less the same.

Then hearts and fire emoji for bodies not mine,
Your lens chased curves I couldn’t outshine.

So I closed my pages. I muted my role.
I stopped reacting. I sheltered my soul.

You wore your scent like a promise to me,
Our secret language in the air I’d breathe.

I folded your clothes just to keep you near,
Your warmth in fabric, your ghost right here.

But now you spray it for strangers’ nose
Six, seven times for another life goes

So I stopped inhaling what’s not meant to stay,
I stopped touching what you gave away.

We used to talk about nothing at all,
Soft little jokes down a narrow hall.

You looked at me like I was your home,
Like I was your favorite place to belong.

Like I was chosen, gentle and rare,
A quiet little crown resting there.

But your stories faded, your laughter grew thin,
Your voice turned sharp when you spoke to me then.

A higher tone, and a frown on your face,
Like warmth had quietly lost its place.

Your silence built walls I couldn’t break through,
It learned how to lock me, right out of you.

Your eyes forgot how to look at mine,
Like love had slowly run out of time.

Before, I was calling you at two in the afternoon,
Just to hear your voice, and your "see you soon."

No reason at all, no story to say,
Only I miss you carried my day.

But something felt wrong a quiet alarm,
A sudden cold distance wrapped round my heart and arm.

When your phone went dark for five silent hours long,
No word, no sign just the feeling I don’t belong.

So I stopped calling you.
I stopped trying through.

Stopped posting for love that no longer stayed,
Stopped chasing a spark you already gave away.

Stopped waiting for hands that would not reach,
Stopped begging your quiet to finally speak.

I didn’t stop loving you out of pride or blame.
I didn’t leave because someone else came.

I stopped…
because love doesn’t end with a fight or a cry
It dies in the spaces where effort runs dry.

Love doesn’t shatter, it slowly divides,
It fades quietly, it gently subsides.

When one keeps holding with all that they know,
And one starts loosening and learning to let go.

Again,I didn’t stop loving you out of spite or pride

I stopped…

because love can’t survive
being slowly set aside.

Feb 18,2026 2:30 Am